One of my favorite psychological phenomenon is the flashbulb memory, which we learned about in lesson 9 of this course. The first time that I learned about flashbulb memory and how it functioned was in a course called Sensations and Perceptions, and I was utterly enthralled learning about how certain memories became etched into our brain when processed in unison with strong emotions. Goldstein tells us that a flashbulb memory is “a person’s memory for the circumstances surrounding hearing about shocking, highly charged events,” but that it is “important to emphasize that the term flashbulb memory refers to memory for the circumstances surrounding how a person heard about an event, not memory for the event itself” (Goldstein, 2011). The main reason for my interest in the phenomenon of flashbulb memories is the link between emotion and memory, which appears to be directly associated with the amygdala as we learned in lesson 9.

Though Goldstein emphasizes that flashbulb memories only refer to hearing about an event, I can certainly recall several memories that I would categorize as flashbulb that I was directly involved in. I have to disagree with Goldstein’s definition and, as our lesson commentary suggests,  believe that a flashbulb memory is any memory that is processed in the context of intense emotion, searing the details of the memory into our minds. These emotions don’t necessarily need to be good or bad, simply out of the ordinary emotions that caused us to construct the memory differently than normal. For example, I have incredibly vivid memories of visits to my grandparents’ house in Vermont as a child. I recall the crispness of the air in the countryside where they lived; the drive through the woods to get to their house; the smell of their wood-burning stove; the bark of their dog as we approached; even seemingly pointless details like counting the fence-posts as we made our way up their driveway. None of these things invoke intense emotion one way or another, but the setting was different enough and caused me to experience different enough sensations that I, for whatever reason, stored the memories away as important. Quite honestly, I can recall many of those memories better than I can the common flashbulb memories, like the events of 9/11.

Without a doubt the detail with which we process memories is directly linked to our emotions, however it would seem to me that the type of memory that might be categorized as flashbulb might be different for everyone. While everyone certainly experiences intense emotion during a crisis, we also all handle it differently which would suggest that we also all process it differently. One person’s 9/11 flashbulb memory might be the most intensely vivid memory that they have ever experienced, while someone else’s most vivid memory might simply be sitting by a lake fishing with their father.

Goldstein, B. (2011). Cognitive psychology: Connecting mind, research and everyday experience (3rd ed.). Wadsworth, Inc.

Alzheimer’s is perhaps the most terrifying disease out there to me because of my experience with it. When I was little, my family and I would travel up to Vermont several times each year to visit my dad’s parents and family. I have very vivid memories of the drives up during the Fall particularly (we would always go to my aunt’s for Thanksgiving) as northern New York and Vermont are absolutely gorgeous in the Fall and Winter. My grandparents lived in a small wood cabin at the top of a big field, which was almost always covered in snow by the time that we would get there. Once we arrived, we would be greeted by an excited sheep dog and my grandfather hobbling out of the cabin with his cane despite protest from both my father and grandmother that it was too icy. Greetings were exchanged along with hugs, and everyone would shuffle inside while my father unloaded the car. My grandmother would always have some form of food (usually meatloaf) cooking when we got there, and we would all sit and eat together within an hour of arriving. We would talk about what everyone had been doing in the time since our last visit, how big my sister and I had gotten, how cozy the cabin was, and what our plans for the duration of that visit were. Then my grandmother would hustle off and return with something sweet for my sister and I, grinning ear-to-ear while my father scolded her for always spoiling us.

These are the memories that I choose to associate with my paternal grandparents. For the last 6 years of their lives, they were both plagued by Alzheimer’s Disease, degenerating further and further until they had become nothing more than empty shells of their former selves. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, Alzheimer’s is a type of dementia that causes problems with memory, thinking and behavior. Symptoms usually develop slowly and get worse over time, becoming severe enough to interfere with daily tasks (Alzheimer’s Association).

For my grandparents, it started off as the normal memory loss associated with aging: forgetting what day it was, misplacing things, relatively harmless memory lapses. But they quickly progressed to the point where they couldn’t remember where they were, or who other people were, and consistently believed that it was some point in the distant past. My aunt lived just up the hill, so she was able to care for my grandparents for a while, but eventually we became concerned that one of them would wander outside and get lost, or turn the stove on and forget about it, so we had to place them in an assisted living center.

My grandfather passed away shortly after we moved them, but my grandmother simply continued to deteriorate. She would read the same book over and over again, never even realizing it, or tell the same story several times in the same hour regardless of whether or not anyone was listening. But the worst part of this disease was just how much it changed her. You see, when you can’t remember where you are or who anyone around you is, it’s very scary, and being in a constant state of fear makes you defensive and angry. She became so very angry towards the end of her life to everyone, cursing at anyone who tried to talk to her and constantly mumbling about how she wished that she was dead. It was heartbreaking to watch this disease completely take over such a lovely person, and there was nothing that anyone could do.

Losing your memory, mind, and ultimately yourself  is one of the worst things that I can possibly imagine having witnessed it first-hand. We get closer to a cure for Alzheimer’s each year, but in the meantime so many suffer from its effects, directly and indirectly. There are currently 5 approved treatment drugs for Alzheimer’s, and research is constantly closing in on the potential causes of Alzheimer’s to help target future medication more effectively (Alzheimer’s Association).

“Alzheimer’s Drug Treatment Horizon | Research Center | Alzheimer’s Association.” Alzheimer’s Association. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2014. http://www.alz.org/research/science/alzheimers_treatment_horizon.asp

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