Perception and the Formation of Memories

Perception and the Formation of Memories

Anne Danen

Psychology 200, Section 01

Professor York

December 27, 2013

Perception and the Formation of Memories

According to this case study, Michael is a 52-year-old doctor who is experiencing memory problems. He reports that his attention wanders during crucial times, such as during his conference to earn continuing education credits as mandated by his job. He also sometimes forgets things altogether. This was evidenced when his wife asked him to pick up a few items at the market and he forgot to go to the store, let alone the list of goods he recited back to his wife. Michael reports that he is under a considerable amount of stress. His primary stressors are that the hospital he works at is implementing several changes in his department. He fears losing his job and being able to successfully open a private practice at his age. Furthermore, his wife is upset about his recent forgetfulness and that he has been working longer hours. He fears she will follow through on her threats of divorce.

In order to best comprehend the potential cause (or causes) of Michael's memory loss, one must first have at least a general understanding of how memories are made. As stated in the text book, one's five senses first must pick up the stimuli, then he or she must apply her or his own perception to decipher this stimuli (Cognitive Psychology, 2010, chap. 2). In other words, one's working memory encodes the information that the brain acquires through sensory messages (Cognitive Psychology, 2010, chap. 3).

This occurs in the limbic system, which consists of an intricate set of brain structures that sit on both sides of the thalamus, directly beneath the cerebrum (Schacter, Gilbert, & Wegner, 2012, chap. 6). The limbic system serves many purposes, including the processing of various sentiments, conduct, motivation, long term memory (LTM), and the perception of smells (olfaction). The limbic system also seems to be predominantly in charge of one's emotional life, and it plays a large role in one's memory formation (Jasmin, 2012).

The two main structures in the limbic system responsible for the creation of memories are the hippocampus and the amygdala (Schacter, et al, 2012, chap. 6). The hippocampus, in part, converts items in one's short term memory into information that will be retained in one's long term memory. The amygdala informs the cortex that certain items have substantial motivational meaning (the primary motivations being reward and fear). The amygdala also encourages the hippocampus to remember many details encasing the fear- or reward-inducing circumstances (Eichenbaum, 2007).

In looking at Michael's case study, it is important to remember that working memory equals short term memory plus attention (Cognitive Psychology, 2010, chap. 3). The text book defines working memory as "awareness of current information in the environment and mind;" short term memory as the "content of memory;" and attention as the "process used to do something with the content" (Cognitive Psychology, 2010, chap. 3). It goes on to express that "the ability to learn and store information in working memory is very limited..." (Cognitive Psychology, 2010, chap. 3).

One model of memory briefly discussed in the text book was proposed by Nelson Cowan. Cowan's model states that working memory is comprised of two levels: the first consists of long-term memory perceptions that have been triggered by sensory stimuli. He calls the second level the "focus of attention" (Cowan, 1995). Additionally, the focus has limited capacity and can only retain up to four pieces of information (Cognitive Psychology, 2010, chap. 3).

Compounding this is the element that unresolved emotional disturbances can greatly impact one's memory. It has been shown that when emotional matters affect people, such as Michael's marital and employment instability, they must expend psychological energy to process this information, rather than having the freedom to think about other concerns (Bonanno, 2009). This claim has been verified by other researchers who explain that "...working memory formation [has] been shown to be frequently impaired...as a result of psychological stress" (Leuthi, Meier, & Sandi, 2009).

Given Michael's marital and employment stressors, and given the fact that one's working memory does not have a very large "storage unit," it is no wonder that his amygdala signaled his hippocampus that these issues take precedence over anything else. Put another way, Michael's fear of losing his livelihood and his love - both of which he presumably (like many people) perceives as comprising his fundamental identity - has left him little room to process much of anything else.

Fortunately, there are many options available to Michael to help him improve his memory. Unfortunately, there are no quick or easy fixes. The only sure way