Forgetting sounds very typical, and we have all been victims of it regardless of what we forgot consciously or subconsciously. Additionally, the brain has specific storage and can only operate to its maximum. Anything else after that is either replaced or spilled out of memory. Unfortunately, smartphones and other devices over the last decade have also tremendously affected people’s retention capabilities.
But Scientists Claim that Forgetting is not bad.
We could not forget countless events and sometimes believe that it is an error on the brain’s part. However, scientists argue that forgetting details here and there is not a weakness. On the contrary, they have associated it with a process that aids learning. Additionally, a report from a study carried out by EurekAlert assessing specific pieces of memory explained that forgetting memories is an essential function of the brain.
So, where is the relationship between learning and forgetting?
A person’s ability to retain access to specific memories or lose them is dependent on their environmental feedback and predictability. Hence, forgetting more often means you will likely indulge inflexible behavior and more thoughtful decision-making. Scientists also likened forgetting to the remembrance of balanced living.
There is a general assumption that people forget due to memory decay occasioned by the effects of time. Besides, times are changing on the planet, and the requirement is people correspond to these changes.
Nonetheless, according to researchers, natural forgetting comes with some benefits, especially if it is not an intentional way of eliminating invaluable thoughts. Instead, it could be a way of altering what a person has in their minds to replace it with something better or more straightforward. The good news is that since the memories work through a neuron cluster known as engram cells, it is easy to recall and access thoughts from the past successfully.
“…forgetting is due to circuit remodelling that switches engram cells from an accessible to an inaccessible state… we propose that forgetting is actually a form of learning that alters memory accessibility….,” expert Paul Frankland of the Hospital for Sick Children and University of Toronto explained.
Sadly, the engram cells can be hijacked if a person has Alzheimer’s disease leading to failure of memory access and memory loss (natural forgetting). This can, however, be reversed through certain operations.
