Memories: Is What You Remember Really What Happened?
Think back to exactly one week ago today. What did you do? Was it an eventful day? Perhaps this article found its way to you on a Saturday, and you remember that fun party you went to last week—or maybe you were out on an adventure. Or perhaps you’re in the middle of your workweek, scrolling through this article as you chew away at your lunch (or better yet, stealing a few minutes during work hours—if so, thank you for the naughty read as you glance over your shoulder, hoping no one will catch you, my sneaky, relatable reader).
No matter where you found yourself one week ago, do you remember it clearly? What if I told you that those memories are a shadow of the actual event and that every time you recall them, you’re not thinking about the event itself but rather the last time you remembered it? This creates a loop in which the memory slowly fades, and with each recollection, you forget a little more of what actually happened that day.
Neuroscientists have discovered that when we retrieve a memory, it doesn’t simply play back like a video recording. Instead, it becomes temporarily unstable and subject to change in a process called memory reconsolidation. Research by Karim Nader and his colleagues has shown that memories are not fixed but are reconstructed each time they are recalled. When a memory is reactivated, it becomes easily influenced and can be modified before storing it again. This means that whenever you think about a memory, you’re not retrieving an exact snapshot of the past; you’re updating it, often without realising it.
Consider this: if someone insists on a detail you’re unsure about—say, they’re adamant they were wearing red shoes—you might start to “remember” those red shoes, even though they were, in fact, purple. Without photographic evidence to the contrary, this forceful statement can shape your memory, showing just how easily external information can alter our recollections.
Now, this example might seem trivial. After all, who cares what colour shoes Jane wore to the party last week? However, the implications become far more significant when put into more critical contexts. In legal settings, for instance, if leading questions or suggestive statements influence a witness’s memory of a crime, it can affect the accuracy of their testimony. Similarly, victims trying to identify perpetrators in a lineup may have their memories distorted by their surroundings or through subtle suggestions from others.
If memory isn’t static but fluid, how can we ever be sure that what we remember is true? If our memories are reconstructed every time we think about them, it raises profound questions about the reliability of our recollections and the very foundation of our personal histories.
