The Seventh Horse of Human Memories
When I was a boy, I used to watch Indian movies a lot. One such movie was “ Sooraj ka Sathvan Ghoda” (The Seventh Horse of the Sun). It was an art movie based on a very interesting story with a unique plot. The story of the movie oscillated back and forth in a mysterious fashion revealing various new versions of past events in the middle of the plot. The same is true for human memories. They are an amalgamation of our past, present and future.
Human memories work like a jigsaw puzzle. They are stored in a diffused network of neurons, and a seemingly compact recollection might have thousand pieces of memories scattered all over the brain. Upon certain emotional stimuli, they assemble and make comprehensive pieces of recollections. How memories are created and recalled in our brains, even after many decades of forgetfulness, is still a mystery for neuroscience.
Deja vu
Deja vu is a French word which means “ already seen”. It is an odd feeling of being familiar with unfamiliar situations. Sometimes, we feel that we have already met a person or have been to a place which, in reality, is not true. It is a manifestation of our memory. Psychologists say that Deja Vu occurs due to partial resemblance of familiar occurrences with the unfamiliar.
Tip-of-the-Tongue Phenomenon (TOT)
It happens almost with everyone. Sometimes, we want to recall a person’s name but it just slips off our tongue. Our mind reminds it but our tongue couldn’t retrieve it. This phenomenon is called tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon. The possible causes of TOT are stress and age related problems. The other name for this phenomenon is lethologica.
Are Memories a Survival Tool?
The question that how our brains decide which memories are important and worth accumulating and which are not depends on the context of the memory. We can never forget the painful moments of our life, or the moments of excitement and happiness. Remembering moments of danger and intimidation are a basic survival tool.
HOW MEMORY LOSS CAN BE PREVENTED?
Scientists suggest various ways to prevent memory loss.
Learning a New Skill
This seems odd, but it is a proven technique. If you want to protect your brain from memory loss, try to learn a new skill, or start learning a new language. This will help developing fresh neural pathways and will keep your brain cells stimulated, preventing formation of plaques. Plaques are the monsters that eat our brains ability to retain a memory for a longer duration of time.
Eat Brain Food
A study published in the American Journal of Medicine found that people with high quality diets experienced less shrinkage of brain and memory loss. Richard Carmona, MD, chief of health innovation at Canyon Ranch, recommends foods such as walnuts, eggs, dark chocolate and green tea for a better brain.
