The Art of Forgetting

75 Pages·2015·0.954 MB·English

by  Ivan Izquierdo (auth.)

The Art of
Forgetting
Ivan Izquierdo
123
The Art of Forgetting

Ivan Izquierdo
The Art of Forgetting
Ivan Izquierdo
Memory Center
Pontifi cal Catholic University of Rio
Grande do Sul, and National Institute
of Translation Neuroscience
National Research Council
Porto Alegre , Brazil
ISBN 978-3-319-06715-5 ISBN 978-3-319-06716-2 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-06716-2
Library of Congress Control Number: 2015931258
Springer Cham Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London
© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015
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Foreword
We all know a lot about forgetting because we do a lot of it. And, as Izquierdo dis-
cusses and emphasizes throughout this little book, it is mostly good that we forget.
After all, most of our experiences are, well, forgettable. We do not need to recall for
our lifetimes, if at all, our uncountable daily experiences. But, we do need to main-
tain memories of important experiences as well as the skills that help us to survive.
Memory is, for all animals, critical for survival. If memory is so critical, however,
why do we so readily forget most of our daily experiences?
In an engaging style that mixes historical ideas with literary observations and
experimental fi ndings, Izquierdo discusses what is known and what needs to be
known about the battle between remembering and forgetting. The studies of
Ebbinghaus, Pavlov and other pioneers of the late nineteenth century revealed much
about the conditions of practice that infl uence learning and subsequent memory.
Research mostly of the past half century provided a rich and detailed understanding
of different forms of learning and memory.
M ore recent studies of the past several decades, including those from Izquierdo’s
laboratory, have revealed much about how the activity of neurons and brain systems
enables us to learn and remember. Although less is known about why we forget,
Izquierdo discusses much of what is known as well as why it is important to under-
stand forgetting. As he notes, both incorrect remembering and failures to forget can
form the bases of distressing clinical problems.
Before proceeding to turn to the fi rst page of this book, the reader is advised to
make sure that she/he has no other pressing obligations, as interesting ideas are
found on every page. Izquierdo has written a highly engaging, thoughtful and infor-
mative book. Much of it is likely to be unforgettable.
Irvine , CA , USA James McGaugh
Research Professor of Neurobiology and Behavior
Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory
University of California Irvine
v

Preface
T his is the English version of the second edition of a book published in Portuguese
in 2011. Many changes were introduced here relative to that former version. I thank
Drs. Jociane de Carvalho Myskiw and Cristiane Furini for their many valuable sug-
gestions as well as the many readers of the former versions for their comments and
support. The artwork of the book is by Dr. Myskiw and Ms. Maria Eduarda
Izquierdo .
Porto Alegre, Brazil Ivan Izquierdo
vii

Contents
1 Introduction ............................................................................................... 1
References ................................................................................................... 6
2 The Art of Forgetting ................................................................................ 7
2.1 The Formation and Retrieval of Memories ...................................... 7
2.2 Forms of Forgetting: First Steps of the Art
(Extinction, Repression, and Discrimination) .................................. 11
2.3 Conditioned Refl exes........................................................................ 12
2.4 The Rapid Forgetting of Working Memory Is Intrinsic
to Its Nature ...................................................................................... 14
2.5 Brain Areas and Systems Involved in the Different
Types of Memory: Some Basic Notions of Neuronal Function ....... 17
2.6 Executive Functions ......................................................................... 21
2.7 More on the Connections Between Nerve Cells .............................. 23
2.8 The Forgetting of Short- and Long-Term Memory .......................... 24
2.9 Memory and Emotions ..................................................................... 25
2.10 More on Memory and Emotions: Endogenous State Dependency ..... 27
2.11 The Use and Disuse of Synapses ...................................................... 29
2.12 Failure of Memory Persistence as a Form of Forgetting? ................ 30
2.13 Reconsolidation ................................................................................ 32
2.14 Practicing Memory ........................................................................... 32
2.15 Reading, Knowledge, Physical Exercise, Social Life,
Memory, and Illness ......................................................................... 36
2.16 The Art of Forgetting: A Second Approach ...................................... 38
2.17 Denial and Memory Falsifi cation ..................................................... 39
2.18 Forgetting by Large Populations ...................................................... 43
2.19 Surviving Through Neuronal Death ................................................. 44
2.20 The Famous Case of Patient H.M..................................................... 45
2.21 When Forgetting Is Not an Art: Amnesic Patients ........................... 47
2.22 Anterograde Amnesia by an Interference with Consolidation ......... 50
2.23 Neuronal Branching and the Suppression of Branching,
Neurogenesis, and Neuronal Death as Adaptive Phenomena ........... 51
2.24 The Acquisition of New Memories .................................................. 52
2.25 Repression ........................................................................................ 54
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