Forgetting is a process that has been studied extensively in both animals and humans, as well as across different species. Forgetting is critical for advancing human development. Without forgetting, one would continue to re-experience negative memories over and over again (a pathological condition called PTSD). Unfortunately, most people are reluctant to forget because they fear the negative consequences of doing so. However, given the importance of forgetting, now is the time to talk more openly about how it works and why it is important. Many pieces of research have shown how memory processes are under the influence of forgetting. Dr. Jim McGaugh’s study on the effects of forgetting on human memory has provided insight into what happens in the brain so that people can better understand how to improve their thinking ability, decision-making skills, and motivation. Jim McGaugh’s experiment showed that when rats familiarize themselves with a new environment and context, they quickly forget about these things. When the rats are put into an unfamiliar environment, their short-term memory is wiped clean from their previous experience. They must create new memories of where they have gone to remember their goal of returning to the familiar area. It creates a vicious cycle that can be summarized as follows.
Memory is a complex; it is not just about remembering things but about how one remembers them and how those memories are formed. It has been a long time since I heard about Jim McGaugh, but his work on the hippocampus is still going strong. In particular, he discovered that specific memory-related genes are activated in the hippocampus during long-term memory formation. It essentially means that one’s brain has to be able to remember things—if it did not, one would not be able to learn anything new. These findings have enormous implications for how people view their brains and their ability to remember things. In particular, they suggest that one’s brains are not as compartmentalized as people once thought—that there is no such thing as a “memory part” of the brain. Instead, memories are formed by multiple parts of the brain working together. It also means that forgetting does not just happen because people have got too much information in their heads. It can also happen because some things get lost from one part of the brain to another through physical movement or even just from being inactive for some time, like when one is asleep.
In his videos, Jim McGaugh shows how a rat’s brain can be trained to remember something when they get a shock. He also shows how they can be trained not to remember something when shocked. It is because the hippocampus’s neurons involved in memory are plastic, meaning they can be changed by experience and use. So if one gets shocked repeatedly and does not remember anything after getting shocked, their brain will change so that it does not make these connections any more. It is essential because it shows how people can train their brains to have better memories. If people have better memories, they can learn new things easier and faster than someone who does not have good memories. People also might do better in school or work because their memories will help them study more effectively instead of having a hard time remembering things right away, like others would have problems with theirs because their brains have not been trained yet like others did, thanks to McGaugh’s research.
In addition, Jim McGaugh’s studies have shown that the hippocampus is crucial for remembering. The hippocampus is a region of the brain that plays a role in memory formation and storage and regulates emotion. In his experiment, he took rats and trained them to remember particular objects based on their location. After some time, they would be tested to see if they remembered where those objects were located. He found that those rats who had received stimulation to the hippocampus could remember better than those who did not. Having an active hippocampus could help one remember things better. This study has implications for how people think about how their brains work regarding memory and how they can improve their memory skills.
In conclusion, McGaugh’s findings suggest that forgetting is critical to memory. The problem that many face today is that their memories are flooded with far too much information. Videos, tweets, music, blogs, and many other distractions threaten to bury even ancient events that may be vital knowledge for survival. It is possible to harness the power of forgetting as part of one’s daily routine to manage better what one should remember and how long one should remember it. The findings discussed here are more relevant to rat brains than human brains. However, even in rats, one can see fundamental differences between seemingly permanent memories and those that seem to fade. The idea that forgetting plays a beneficial role in memory is undoubtedly interesting, and it is supported by animal and human studies. Memory does not just serve the purpose of recording events; it also helps people to process information and form new connections between different pieces of data. When people stop thinking about something, that memory has served its purpose—it has become unnecessary. And then it fades away, taking up less space in the brain until one needs it again. That is all good news for anyone struggling with retaining information for long periods.