November 14th Blog

I was particularly interested in the section of the reading (which I believe was in Schacter) that discussed the idea that memories can be inaccurate, either because they were transformed over time or because they have varied from their original and true form. In the first instance, he gave an example of a girl who was traumatized by the memory of having her clitoris removed only to discover that it never actually happened and, in the second instance, gives an example of a man who thought his wife was present when he learned certain information even though she wasn’t. This made me wonder what is necessary to create such a false memory, particularly how rumination can become so powerful that it creates such a memory. I was also interested in the role the amygdala plays in this process. A study mentioned in the book showed that stress hormones can enhance memory, and I wonder if the stress that is induced during rumination is powerful enough to cause the brain to “remember” the thought as if it were real.