Memory

What is Memory?
Memory is the act of remembering something that is now stored in the brain and can be used when needed. There are different types of memory and the different parts of ones memory that are used to remember different types of content. There are two types of memory which are explicit memory and implicit memory, their are three major memory stages, sensory, short-term, and long-term. Explicit memory refers to knowledge or experiences that can be consciously remembered. Implicit memory is more knowledge of facts and concepts. Everyone needs and values both implicit and explicit memory because both give access to different kinds of memories that are valued by people in society.

How do you forget something?
To actually remember something and commit it to memory you have to properly encode it into your head by actually learning the content of the subject. This usually happens when someone is taught something while they are distracted and not giving the content all of their attention. Generally this causes people to think that they know something that they don't, for example is someone is studying for a test while watching a t.v show they generally won't remember much of the content they're studying because their attention is split between the two activities. The other way people forget is due to time and how long you go without needing to now anything specific. This means learning a term or equation in a class and then never taking a class afterward where you needed to know that information so you end up not needing that equation until way late in life and you can't remember because you haven't used it since you first learned it.

Amnesia?
Amnesia is a profound way to forget something and sometimes the items forgotten won't ever be remembered.  Their are many different kinds of amnesia and one touched on in the chapter was Retrograde Amnesia which is the inability to retrieve old memories that occurred before the onset of amnesia. The patient that has this type of amnesia had his temporal lobes removed due to epileptic seizures.The biggest issue with having this type of amnesia is that he can't remember that his father died because it happened after his surgery and when he learns something and thinks about something else, as soon as he thinks about something else he forgets the new information. This is interesting to me because on another post I talked about a little girl that had half of her brain removed and still functions completely normally, so the fact that he's gotten this retrograde amnesia and can only remember everything that happened to him before the surgery explains that everything in the brain is important and when people remove different parts everyone reacts differently.

How to help your memory..
Their are different exercises you can do to strengthen your memory, many of which are online in the form of memory tests. As a child my mom worked for a company that would tutor kids by playing brain games to improve their memory and receptor skills. I struggled a lot in elementary and middle school when it came to remember content that I had learned in school. My mom decided to help me by playing brain games with me, she would tap into using songs, rhythms,association to help me develop different ways to remember everything. I began to use these different techniques when having to memorize terms and content for exams and quizzes in school. I still use these techniques to this day to help me get good grades and remember the content I learn in my classes.