Memory Hackers

Would you like to remember everything that happened to you every day in your life? Some people have that gift, which is dubbed “highly superior autobiographical memory.” Filmmaker Anna Lee Strachan's PBS-aired NOVA documentary notes that "memory is the key to our identity," yet it remains one of the biggest mysteries in science today. Memories are changeable and dynamic, can be stored in different parts of the brain, and long-term memories are critical in defining who we are. For years, it was thought that memory was like a book in a library, which could be pulled from the shelves, examined, and then returned to its proper place (aging would sometimes cause the "book" to get lost on the shelves). However, new technology suggests that the brain operates more like a computer, in which recalling a memory is similar to opening a file. The mere act of remembering can alter an memory, and memories can be unreliable, causing people to misunderstand and misinterpret what they think they remember. These false memories have major implications for our criminal justice system. Doctors have recently used new insights to edit people's bad memories and worst fears, currently more along the lines of phobias regarding spiders and snakes, but with possible future implications for fighting addictions or post-traumatic stress disorder. Memory is an evolutionary skill that allows us to "time travel to the past," but as one young memory master says, remembering everything includes all of the bad stuff that most of us would prefer to forget. Drawing on cutting-edge research, this exploration of how memory works is recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (S. Rees)