Memory Brains are different from computers, but the analogy can be helpful. Like the PC on your desk, your mind is equipped with two basic types of memory: "working memory" for juggling information in the present moment, and "long-term memory" for storing it over extended periods. Contrary to popular wisdom, our brains don’t record everything that happens to us and then bury it until a hypnotist or a therapist helps us dredge it up. Most of what we perceive hovers briefly in working memory, a mental play space akin to a computer’s RAM, then simply evaporates. Working memory enables you to perform simple calculations in your head or retain phone numbers long enough to dial them. And like RAM, it lets you analyze and invent things without creating a lasting record. Long-term memory acts more like a hard drive, physically recording past experiences in the brain region known as cerebral cortex. The cortex, or outer layer of the brain, houses a thicket of 10 billion vine—like nerve cells, which communicate by relaying chemical and electrical impulses. We can will things into long-term memory simply by rehearsing them. But the decision to store or discard a piece of information rarely involves any conscious thought. It’s usually handled automatically by the hippocampus, a small, two-winged structure nestled deep in the center of the brain. Like the key-board on your computer, the hippocampus serves as a kind of switching station. As neurons out in the cortex receive sensory information. They relay it to the hippocampus. If the hippocampus responds, the sensory neurons start forming a durable network. But without that act of consent, the experience vanishes forever. By storing only the information we’re most likely to use, our brains make the world manageable. Perfect retention may sound like a godsend, but when the hippocampus gets overly permissive, the results can be devastating. At the other end of the spectrum stands impairments of the memory, which can be caused by brain surgery as well as normal aging. Other memory busters include depression, anxiety and a simple lack of stimulation—all of which keep us from paying full attention to our surroundings. What, then, are the best ways to protect your memory Obviously, anyone concerned about staying sharp should make a point of sleeping enough and managing stress. And because the brain is at the mercy of the circulatory system, a heart-healthy lifestyle may have cognitive benefits as well.
Brains are different from computers, but the analogy can be helpful. Like the PC on your desk, your mind is equipped with two basic types of memory: "working memory" for juggling information in the present moment, and "long-term memory" for storing it over extended periods. Contrary to popular wisdom, our brains don’t record everything that happens to us and then bury it until a hypnotist or a therapist helps us dredge it up. Most of what we perceive hovers briefly in working memory, a mental play space akin to a computer’s RAM, then simply evaporates. Working memory enables you to perform simple calculations in your head or retain phone numbers long enough to dial them. And like RAM, it lets you analyze and invent things without creating a lasting record.
Long-term memory acts more like a hard drive, physically recording past experiences in the brain region known as cerebral cortex. The cortex, or outer layer of the brain, houses a thicket of 10 billion vine—like nerve cells, which communicate by relaying chemical and electrical impulses. We can will things into long-term memory simply by rehearsing them. But the decision to store or discard a piece of information rarely involves any conscious thought. It’s usually handled automatically by the hippocampus, a small, two-winged structure nestled deep in the center of the brain. Like the key-board on your computer, the hippocampus serves as a kind of switching station. As neurons out in the cortex receive sensory information. They relay it to the hippocampus. If the hippocampus responds, the sensory neurons start forming a durable network. But without that act of consent, the experience vanishes forever.
By storing only the information we’re most likely to use, our brains make the world manageable. Perfect retention may sound like a godsend, but when the hippocampus gets overly permissive, the results can be devastating. At the other end of the spectrum stands impairments of the memory, which can be caused by brain surgery as well as normal aging. Other memory busters include depression, anxiety and a simple lack of stimulation—all of which keep us from paying full attention to our surroundings. What, then, are the best ways to protect your memory Obviously, anyone concerned about staying sharp should make a point of sleeping enough and managing stress. And because the brain is at the mercy of the circulatory system, a heart-healthy lifestyle may have cognitive benefits as well.
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