With an estimated 100 billion brain cells, are
our brains like a giant filing cabinet?
If so, what are the similarities between how we file information in our
brains vs. in a file drawer or on our computers?
As researchers study the different causes of dementia, we are learning more
about how our brains work.
Johns Hopkins posted a health alert recently about how we make memories.
Memories are formed in three stages:
- Acquisition
- Consolidation
- Retrieval
As I read the article, I visualized how I use a file cabinet or the
computer.
ACQUISITION
With today’s onslaught of information, I glide through the busy patches of
life by placing information on my computer’s desktop–yes, the home screen on my
computer. You may do the same on your tablet or smartphone. And who doesn’t toss
hard copies of information in a pile? When that pile grows too tall or our
screens grow too cluttered, what do we do? We create a catchall file or box in
which we place information we’ll refer to later.
In effect, we postpone learning and digesting the information we set aside.
Since we’re aware of it for a moment, this awareness resides in our short-term
memory, which is fleeting.
CONSOLIDATION
It isn’t until we file the information that we begin the process of
consolidation.
Evaluating where to store it–which file is most appropriate for this
information–helps us strengthen the neural pathways to our memories.
If the information is of interest now–it relates to a project we’re working
on–we’ll likely add it to our layers of knowledge; thus, forging more
connections in our brains.
To forge these connections, which impacts retrieval, we’re smart to add new
labels to file drawers or to create easily accessible shortcut links on our
computers. These actions will strengthen our recall.
RETRIEVAL
The stronger these connections grow, the more quickly and easily we’re able
to retrieve information. This is why we remember peoples’ names with whom we
interact regularly and forget those we meet once.
Information is worthwhile if we can retrieve it when we need it.
For millions of people living with cognitive impairing diseases like
Alzheimer’s, vascular, and other causes of dementia, this becomes an
excruciating and frustrating issue.
For the rest of us, the Johns Hopkins article admonishes:
…if you have a problem remembering something,
maybe you weren’t
concentrating on it too hard in the first place.
Retrieving information grows easier the more often we use it. The same holds
true if we’ve filed an interesting or other significant piece of information.
The key is how we file the information and this depends on what’s important to
us now. Our filing categories change based on what we’re focused on at a given
time in our lives.
We first need to decide whether a piece of information is important enough to
retrieve. And if it is, then we must file it appropriately in order to retrieve
it when we need it.
Dementia Signage for the Home
