Recording-2025-02-19T17:50:49.803Z

Family Influence on Memory

Memories shape our identity and experiences.
For individuals with Alzheimer’s, their essence remains despite memory loss.
Deterioration of memory can lead to feelings of fear and disorientation, as memories provide a sense of grounding.

Selective Nature: Not everything is remembered; focus tends to be on significant events, while trivial details may persist.
Reconstructive Process: Memories are reassembled, similar to Legos, meaning they can vary from recollection to recollection.

Confabulation: Errors in memory where individuals mix memories or believe false events occurred due to repeated exposure to similar stories.
- First Type: Confusion between an event that happened to someone else and it being recalled as happening to oneself.
- Second Type: The belief that an imagined event occurred, even if it did not.

Increased repetition of stories enhances the likelihood of misremembering.
Higher detail in stories can lead to errors due to the complexity of information.
Imagination can blur boundaries between real and fabricated memories.

Explicit Memory: Conscious remembrance.
- Example: Recall (retrieving information without cues) and Recognition (identifying previously learned information).
Implicit Memory: Unconscious yet recalled information often triggered by context or surrounding environment.
Active Study Techniques: Engaging multiple senses while studying enhances retention.

Sensory Memory: Immediate, brief impressions via senses; lasts only 1-2 seconds.
Short-Term Memory: Holds information for about 30 seconds to a few minutes; possess a limited capacity.
Long-Term Memory: Greatest capacity; can retain information from childhood.

Alzheimer’s impacts short-term memory first; individuals can recall distant memories better than recent ones.
Over time, short-term memory degradation can lead to confusion and absence of recent memories.

Effective Encoding: Focused attention increases memory retention.
Rehearsal: Practicing information helps improve memory:
- Maintenance rehearsal (rote memorization) is low-level but often only retains short-term.
- Elaborative rehearsal incorporates details and connections to existing knowledge.
- Deep processing links information to personal relevance, enhancing recall.
Active Study Techniques: Use of multiple senses and various study methods—reading aloud, summarizing, or discussing with peers—can facilitate learning.
Retrieval Practice: Self-testing helps reinforce memory.
Mnemonics: Creating acronyms or phrases aids in recalling lists or sequences.

Cue-Dependent Forgetting: Lack of retrieval cues hinders recall.
Decay: Memories may fade over time if not regularly accessed.
Replacement: New information may overwrite old memories.
Interference: Old and new information can interfere with one another; can be retroactive or proactive.
Repression: Traumatic memories may be pushed out of conscious awareness inadvertently.