The Physiology of False Memories

The Physiology of False Memories

Memories are an extraodinarily complex working of the human mind which enable us to recall events from our past histories, as if they occurred yesturday. However, memories are extreamly fragile things and are easily moulded into new creaitons. Our memories are not as accurate as we like to think they are.  Instead the process consists of reconstructing various fragments of the experience together like a puzzle, as memories are unable to be recreated as a whole. As a result some of the memories we recall are not 100% accurate as error seeps into the construction process, just like when we construct  a puzzle we might not necessarily get all the pieces in the correct place first time round. But in most cases our memories are accurate enough to be reliable. However, there are many accounts of false memories, and Loftus (1995) has shown that these can easily be implanted through things in the environment. An  abundance of research shows how false memories can be easily created by using manipulated photographs. Psychologists have been able to create some horrible memories of abuse as well as some more pleasant memories of birthday parties which never occured (Loftus, 1995). Some researchers have suggested that it is this technique of false memories that is responsible for people thinking they’ve been abducted by aliens (Loftus) However, as of yet there is no research which identifies whether memories can be true or false on a physiological level according to Costandi (guardian article writer).

Baioui, Ambach, Walter and Vaitl (2012) aimed to investigate the physiology of false memories using visual stimuli. In order to see whether there was a physiological difference in peoples’ recollection of fasle meories vs. true memories. The study involved 60 participants who, first had to learn a list of 12 semantically related words; bed, sheet, quilt, pillow. Afterwards they were given another list of words , some where the same and some were lures – things which could be associated with the previous list like – dream/ sleep. Participants’ where then asked to recall as many of the words on the original list as they could. Participants’ were often wrong on many acounts. During the experimnet participants where hooked-up to various things to measure skin conductance, heart rate, breathing and pulse in the finger.

This is one of the first studies to use physiological measures in investigating false memories. The findings suggests that basic involuntary responses means that researchers were able to distinguish between false and true memories. As with any type of scientific research there are implucations regarding the results. This study in particular rasies issues to do with witness tesitmony in court room situations. These physiological findings suppot Loftus and Palmer’s findings regarding inducing subtle difference eye-witness testimony regarding the true account of events and false memories through leading questions.

 

 

Interesting Reads

The physiological markers of false memories

Baioui, Ambach, Walter and Vaitl (2012)

Loftus

“Sometimes I believe more than six impossible things before breakfast…”

Myths about the brain are all over the place, engrained in folk law and become part of our everyday knowledge. This blog post hopes to separate the fact from the fiction, by looking at the evidence or lack of evidence in the world of psychology and neuroscience. For some reason when it comes to the brain there seems to be more myths than facts circulating our knowledge base. Maybe, this is because these appeal to us more, so we interpret them as truth.  Ever heard this … If you breathe through your left nostril it makes you more creative as the oxygen goes straight to the right hemisphere…. Really? Does the fact that when you breathe in the oxygen goes straight into the lungs count for anything? Titbits like this are part of a multi-million dollar business which provides us with non-effective ways of trying to improve cognitive functions. For some reason we all (me included) believe these myths and transform them into scientific truth.

You only use 10% of your brain

Movies like limitless promote the inability to access vast areas of the brain, however, by taking a drug we can enter parts of the brain that we don’t use. fMRI scans show that even for the most simplest of tasks like moving your hand use a lots of different areas of the area brain (Gordon, 2008).  Control of motor output requires an enormous amount of brain activation because it deals with planning, and implementing how the muscles move (Beyerstein, 1999). The brain doesn’t allow itself to simply wait around to be used. If nerve cells aren’t used they are used for a different function in other areas of the brain or they degenerate and die; use it or lose it.  Chudler states that the brain takes up 20% of the body’s resources, so why would our brains have evolved to be so big if it weren’t being used? This myth derives from the self-help literature in regards to the ability of reaching all that untapped potential in a book written by Dale Carnegie called How to Win Friends and Influence People. We would all like to believe that we can better ourselves in regards to how we use our brain. However, this is already achieved.  We are constantly learning new things and develop new memories. Not because we are using an undiscovered area of the brain, but because we form new connections and loose old connections between nerve cells.

The Mozart Effect – Listening to his music makes you clever

Listening to classical music and in particular Mozart has allegedly has a significant long term benefits for thinking ability/ mental function, when it’s played to young children. Speculation suggests that there is something in the rhythm of the music that causes this. Supposedly through tapping into the resources used for higher reasoning by priming certain brain circuits with music to enhance cognitive ability thus increasing intelligence.

However, there is no scientific evidence to suggest the listening to Mozart has any long term effect on babies’ cognitive abilities. Grant informs that this myth derives from Roucher and Colleagues study which was wrongly interpreted by the media which snowballed into the Amadeus enhanced IQ myth. No evidence that listening to any type of music enhances intelligence. But it didn’t stop a Governor of a US state to provide new and expectant mothers with classical music CDs to try and make his future constituents more intelligent.  Instead research shows that music increases alertness, which had a short term effect on performance, but does not enhance cognitive functions. We like the fact that the ability to enhance or improve our brain capacity can be simply achieved which makes it more desirable.

We all believe in bizarre things but these also seem to be having an effect on the way we interpret scientific research, so the next time you hear something, remember to check out the facts first!!!!! (or we’ll be saying move over ear plugs there is a new friend in town….right nostril plugs)

Interesting Reads

• Limitless trailer
• Gordon (2008)
• Chudler
• How to Win Friends and Influence People
• The Mozart Effect

*Images obtained from Google