We humans are biological organisms, the products of DNA and experience, often modified by injury or disease. All of our experience, from fetal life to the moment of our death, is recorded in our brain as memory, much of which will never be consciously retrieved but all of which influences our personality and behavior. Our ability to learn is totally dependent upon memory, reflecting our capacity to recall the significance of data that arrives through our senses.
Memories are reinforced when retrieved, producing high speed circuits that facilitate our ability to think and communicate effectively. Less utilized memory is less precise and, as crime witness studies have shown, even recent memory can be inaccurate. On the other hand, distant memories that are infused with emotional significance are retrieved repeatedly and, over the years, retain their clarity. As we age, these older, reinforced memories remain accessible while our capacity to recall recent events diminishes; of course, physical brain damage, through injury or disease, may eliminate all forms of memory.
Memory is vital to our ability to function as human beings and, in a positive sense, allows us to relive the joys of our life and to learn from past mistakes. But memory can also burden our lives, igniting remorse or regret, and sometimes diminishes our capacity to enjoy the present. Indeed, the happiness and optimism of youth reflects an innocence that is unencumbered by memories of the past.
