I’m so excited! Every time I try to remember “that time when”, I am reassured that forgetting is a form of learning!! What? For years, I’ve likened that brain fog or whatever you’d like to call it, to be downloading data to free up more space in my brain, with no basis in why it actually happens. And I’m a brain-freak and LOVE to learn more about how that incredible organ works.
Forgetting the past is actually a form learning
In recent research, Dr. Tomas Ryan and Dr. Paul Frankland reported, “Memories are stored in ensembles of neurons called ‘engram cells’ and successful recall of these memories involves the reactivation of these ensembles. The logical extension of this is that forgetting occurs when engram cells cannot be activated. The memories themselves are still there, but if the specific ensembles cannot be activated they can’t be recalled. It’s as if memories are stored in a safe but you can’t remember the code to unlock it. Our new theory proposes that forgetting is due to circuit remodeling that switches engram cells from an accessible to an inaccessible state. Because the rate of forgetting is impacted by environmental conditions, we propose that forgetting is actually a form of learning that alters memory accessibility in line with the environment and how predictable it is.”
Some disease processes, such as Alzheimer’s, say Drs. Ryan and Frankland, don’t allow the brain to access the memories, resulting in pathologic memory loss. They believe this “natural forgetting” is reversible in most cases and allows us to interact dynamically with the environment, leading to more flexible behavior and better decision-making.
In essence, we “forget” or lock away the memories that are not as vital to that particular memory-making event. Rather than believing that memories simply decay over time, forgetting might be a form of learning!
Kathy
Reference
Ryan, T. and Frankland, P. (2022). Forgetting as a form of adaptive engram cell plasticity. Nature Review Neuroscience 23: 173-186.
