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WHY DO WE FORGET? NEW THEORY SAYS “FORGETTING” IS ACTUALLY A FORM OF LEARNING

TOPICS:BrainDecisionLearningMemoryNeurosciencePopularTrinity College Dublin

By Trinity College Dublin January 16, 2022

We create countless memories as we live our lives but many of these we forget.
Why? Counter to the general assumption that memories simply decay with time,
‘forgetting’ might not be a bad thing – that is according to scientists who
believe it may represent a form of learning.

The scientists behind the new theory – outlined today in leading international
journal Nature Reviews Neuroscience – suggest that changes in our ability to
access specific memories are based on environmental feedback and predictability.
Rather than being a bug, forgetting may be a functional feature of the brain,
allowing it to interact dynamically with the environment.



In a changing world like the one we and many other organisms live in, forgetting
some memories can be beneficial as this can lead to more flexible behavior and
better decision-making. If memories were gained in circumstances that are not
wholly relevant to the current environment, forgetting them can be a positive
change that improves our wellbeing.

The new theory proposes that forgetting is due to circuit remodelling that
switches engram cells from an accessible to an inaccessible state. Credit: Dr.
Nora Raschle

So, in effect, the scientists believe we learn to forget some memories while
retaining others that are important. Forgetting of course comes at the cost of
lost information, but a growing body of research indicates that, at least in
some cases, forgetting is due to altered memory access rather than memory loss.

The new theory has been proposed by Dr. Tomás Ryan, Associate Professor in the
School of Biochemistry and Immunology and the Trinity College Institute of
Neuroscience at Trinity College Dublin, and Dr. Paul Frankland, Professor in the
Department of Psychology at the University of Toronto and the Hospital for Sick
Children in Toronto.

Both Dr. Ryan and Dr. Frankland are fellows of the Canadian global research
organization CIFAR, which enabled this collaboration through its Child & Brain
Development program, which is pursuing interdisciplinary work in this area.

An engram cell. Credit: Dr. Clara Ortega-de San Luis, Ryan Lab, Trinity College
Dublin

Dr. Ryan, whose research team is based in the Trinity Biomedical Sciences
Institute (TBSI), said:

“Memories are stored in ensembles of neurons called ‘engram cells’ and
successful recall of these memories involves the reactivation of these
ensembles. The logical extension of this is that forgetting occurs when engram
cells cannot be reactivated. The memories themselves are still there, but if the
specific ensembles cannot be activated they can’t be recalled. It’s as if the
memories are stored in a safe but you can’t remember the code to unlock it.

“Our new theory proposes that forgetting is due to circuit remodeling that
switches engram cells from an accessible to an inaccessible state. Because the
rate of forgetting is impacted by environmental conditions, we propose that
forgetting is actually a form of learning that alters memory accessibility in
line with the environment and how predictable it is.”

Dr. Frankland added:

“There are multiple ways in which our brains forget, but all of them act to make
the engram – the physical embodiment of a memory – harder to access.”

Speaking to the case of pathological forgetting in disease, Dr. Ryan and Dr.
Frankland note:

“Importantly, we believe that this ‘natural forgetting’ is reversible in certain
circumstances, and that in disease states – such as in people living with
Alzheimer’s disease for example – these natural forgetting mechanisms are
hijacked, which results in greatly reduced engram cell accessibility and
pathological memory loss.”

Reference: “Forgetting as a form of adaptive engram cell plasticity” by Tomás J.
Ryan and Paul W. Frankland, 13 January 2022, Nature Reviews Neuroscience.
DOI: 10.1038/s41583-021-00548-3


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3 COMMENTS ON "WHY DO WE FORGET? NEW THEORY SAYS “FORGETTING” IS ACTUALLY A FORM
OF LEARNING"

 1. Sekar | January 16, 2022 at 2:35 pm | Reply
    
    Interesting Theory.
    
    This could be correct about forgetting. It may be a defenese mechanism
    in-built to disable unpleasant and unimportant memorries. Especcally if the
    soul has met a violent end like murder ain a past life. I recall seeing the
    movie Reincarnation of Peter Proud in childhood!
    
    Theory is incomplete in my opinion, without an explanation for the ability
    to remembering trivial and unimportant events from current lifetimes.There
    are numerous incidents (If I am not mistaken it was “Raymond Moody”) who
    investigated such reported incidents, in a book he wrote, where people
    report remembering past life incidents. There are other researchers who have
    done such research.
    
    Maybe these souls have not taken a bath in the River of forgetfulness as per
    Greek Mythology!!
    
    In this part of the world, the firm bielief in the certainty of countless
    rebirths till we can reach the feet of the Almighty till we have worked out
    our Karma is prevalent.
    
    Views expressed are personal and not binding on anyone.

 2. Frosted Flake | January 17, 2022 at 6:31 pm | Reply
    
    While the unexplained theory IS interesting, it would be more interesting if
    the author would fail to explain how memory engrams work.

 3. Alex Dax | January 18, 2022 at 11:08 am | Reply
    
    Alright, this is cool. Also, I wonder how these ensembles of engram cells
    respond to trauma and drug use (psychedelics, psychoactive compounds,
    SSRI’s, and uppers and downers) during childhood and adulthood.


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