Have you ever encountered a time where you are asked to recall a memory or friends are reminiscing about a certain event that you possibly attended and you cannot remember it and then all of a sudden the memory seems extraordinarily clear as they describe parts of what they remember? This is a defense mechanism the brain uses in order to prevent distress in the psyche. The brain is able to fill in holes or gaps in memory with possible logical events and happenings when distress occurs, these memory fillers are called ‘false memories’.
False memories are unique in that the person can with remarkable certainty express that a memory or event occurred, but also recognize on a scale that they are different from genuine memories in terms of sensory detail. For instance, a person showed a picture of a circus with no people it and asked to recall what occurred the day it was taken could probably tell with general detail say what occurred, even if they hadn’t been truly been at the circus; the recall would be slow and jumpy with certain details being remembered spontaneously. However, if you were to present a picture the same person in which they were in and asked them to recall that day, they would most likely be able to quickly and accurately recall events in a sequential order. If asked to compare the memories of the two days, the person would probably recognize the second memory as being more accurate to their experience and truer.
False memories activate two different areas in the brain, the hippocampus and parahippocampal gyrus. When looking at activation in the medial temporal lobe, the hippocampus showed equal activation and activity when a person remembered both false items/memories and true items/memories, but not when new items/memories that were introduced. This activation suggests that there is a dissociation in the brain when it comes to sensory content and somatic content. It also suggests that false items/memories are similar to true items/memories (Gazzaniga, 351).
So the next time you have recall an old memory, be critical of the details; it might not be a memory at all!
Gazzaniga, M. S., Ivry, R. B., & Mangun, G. R. (2009). Cognitive neuroscience: The biology of the mind. New York: W.W. Norton.
I think the topic of false memories is a very interesting one. I also wrote my last blog post about false memories. I experienced something like this recently when I was in Vegas. I swore that I remembered something happening that we found out months later, did not happen at all! The part that interests me the most is exactly how easy it is for us to create the false memories and exactly how real they feel. This really makes you wonder about eyewitness testimony’s. How can we ever be sure that something an eye witness sees is accurate and not just a false memory due to a traumatic event? According to lesson 9 in our cognitive psychology class, at least 300 people have been absolved of crimes that they did not actually commit, and 75% of these false accusations were due to faulty eye witness testimony’s possibly because of false memories. This is a large and scary amount of people that were falsely accused of a crime they did not commit. In the end, there really seems to be no way to avoid false memories from being created, and it seems all that we can do to keep innocent people from being accused of crimes due to false memories is to find as much evidence as possible.
I think you discussed a good topic from which we were able to study a little more in depth this semester. A false memory is a description that challenges our memory and accountability, and is something in which we can all relate to within our lives at one point or another. I know you gave one general example of how false memories can be used involving a photograph at the circus. I was hoping that you could possibly give an example of how false memories have happened from your own personal experience.
As for myself, I work in an industry where I may have to provide information concerning a situation with a client. Sometimes this feedback that I have to give may be about a meeting that occurred yesterday, last week, last month, or even a year from the original interaction. I try to prohibit false memories from happening by always making sure I have the proper documentation in place during any of my client meetings. I do this so I can recall as much accurate information as I can with little room for error or hypotheticals. After all, as you stated, the human brain will be forced to work at certain times to recreate a false scenario as a “defense mechanism in order to prevent distress in the psyche.” We can’t always provide an accurate description, but we can implement a process in order to help us provide as much details as we can.