• Question: do you know if you can bring back memories if youve lost them

    Asked by summee to Liad, Claire, Ruth, Ryan, Mako on 14 Jun 2015. This question was also asked by 563thuc23, Jeff Acer 42.0.
    • Photo: Liad Baruchin

      Liad Baruchin answered on 14 Jun 2015:

      It depends. Scientists still keep on discovering new facts about how are memory works, and a lot is still not known. However, it seems that a lot of the times memories do stay in the brain but we can’t reach them, like a paper in a very messy filing cabinet. But other times, when cells in the brain are actually destroyed as happens in some diseases, the memories actually become lost forever.

Comments

  • Photo: Claire

    Claire commented on :

    Of course we all forget things from time to time, but usually this is not permanent and you will remember at some point, even if it takes a while to remember!
    Some memories are ‘lost’ though. I’m not an expert but I think it depends on why you lost those memories in the first place. If the person has experienced brain damage then unfortunately those memories will probably be lost forever.
    Memories can also be lost after a traumatic incident. This is the brain’s way of coping with bad events. It might be possible to get these memories back through intense psychotherapy with a specialist.