Reconstruct Memories: After a negative experience, the brain may not only revisit the specific incident but also recall other similar memories from the past. This process links them together, storing the memories more effectively.
According to a study, memories in the brain are continuously integrated and adapted over time. They dynamically update in response to new information and experiences. Researchers have identified mechanisms in this process through studies on mice, showing how the brain merges new information with previous memories to update them.
Reconstruct Memories, This discovery offers valuable insights into conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), where memories become a source of distress.
Brain Reconstruct Memories
A Step Forward In Memory Research
Deniz Cai, the lead researcher and assistant professor of neuroscience at the Icahn School of Medicine in New York, stated, “We have taken a significant step toward understanding how memory functions in daily life, where memories are constantly updated to allow us to live in a dynamic and ever-changing world.”
Reconstruct Memories, Researchers observed mice’s behavior during new experiences while simultaneously monitoring activity in the hippocampus, the brain region responsible for memory and learning.
How Negative Experiences Shape Memory
Reconstruct Memories, The findings revealed that after an event, the brain reevaluates the experience, solidifies the memory, and makes it long-lasting. It revisits the event and reactivates the associated information to store it more effectively.
Interestingly, following a negative experience, the brain often revisits not only the specific incident but also other similar past memories, linking them together to improve memory retention.
Challenging The Old Perspective On Memory
Reconstruct Memories, Cai explains that traditional theories held that once formed, memories were unchanging and fixed. During a new experience, neural connections were believed to form and remain stable for later recall. However, experiments with mice challenge this idea.
The old theory fails to explain how the brain stores memories while also updating them with new, related information. To navigate the world effectively, a combination of stability and flexibility in neural connections is essential.
How The Brain Reactivates And Links Memories
Reconstruct Memories, In this study, mice were exposed to a negative experience, such as a mild foot shock. The researchers found that this experience not only reactivated the negative memory but also brought to mind a non-threatening memory from a few days earlier.
According to Cai, during periods of rest after a highly negative experience, neural circuits reactivated the previous harmless memory. This process integrated the two types of memories. “We call this phenomenon ‘coactivation of ensembles,’ which we now know leads to the long-term linking of memories in the brain,” she said.
Reconstruct Memories, Contrary to earlier studies suggesting sleep aids memory, researchers found that memory links formed more frequently while the mice were awake rather than asleep.
Negative Events And Memory Integration
Reconstruct Memories, The study also showed that negative experiences are more likely to connect with past memories. Stronger negative events increase the likelihood of revisiting and integrating previous memories with new ones.
This suggests that the brain actively reviews past memories after negative experiences, combining them with the new event to create a comprehensive, interconnected memory network.
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