First Memory

Last week we talked about memory, and one topic was infantile amnesia. For some reason, most people don’t remember anything that happened before they were 2 or 3 years old. Why we don’t know. It could be that the hippocampus, a brain structure instrumental in episodic memories, isn’t developed until then. Then again, the fact that infants aren’t yet proficient in language could be a factor.  

Some psychologists feel that the first memory is significant in telling us something about ourselves and our current relationships, lifestyle, and perhaps even self image. Who was in your first memory? Perhaps more importantly, who was not? What was your role? Were you the center of attention, the pampered baby, the caretaker, or what? And how did you feel? Were you mad, glad, scared, or sad? Of all the things that happened to you in infancy and early childhood, why do you think this one memory stands out? Do you think it has significance for you life today?

Here’s my first memory. I was probably around 3 years old, and I was sitting in the back seat of a car listening to my mother and her mother exchange small talk as my mother parked the car. She said something to my grandmother and then got out of the car. I’m not sure where she was going, but I wasn’t alarmed because I knew she’d be back. My brother Mike, however, became extremely distressed. He began to cry as if his little heart was broken, and I reached over and put my arm around his shoulder, whispering that everything would be fine…that our sweet mama would be right back. My grandmother was a great gal, but she didn’t seem to be involved (in my memory at least) in comforting Mike.

Even today, if he’s upset, I’m upset. I’m also protective. If one of my own children were to say something like, “I saw Uncle Mike wearing yellow polka dot running shorts and an orange hat,” I’d say, “So? What’s wrong with that?” Oh, and about our grandmother. She was cool lady, always loving but never cloying, intrusive, smothering, or demanding.

First memory. Mine’s of my brother, and it has significance to my life today. What’s yours? Come on and share. Maybe we can figure out what it means.

Life Without Memory

Remember waking up this morning? Within seconds, you probably realized what day it was and began to have some thoughts about what the day entailed. In other words, you became consciously aware of your thoughts, perceptions, and surroundings. You might even have a memory of the tail end of a dream or of a bout of insomnia that kept you from a night of peaceful slumber.

Contrast your awakening with that of Clive Wearing, the man we discussed in PSY 201 who has no memories of the past and no thoughts of the future. Clive developed amnesia over 20 years ago after developing viral encephalitis that destroyed his hippocampus and part of his frontal lobe, areas of the brain believed to be crucial in memory formation. He lives in short 20-30 second intervals of time and feels that he is constantly awakening…from what, he can’t say. Perhaps to assure himself that he’s actually alive, Clive writes statements such as, “I am awake at last,” and “I’m fully conscious for the first time,” in his journal.

Clive remembers his wife Deborah, how to speak and write, how to play the piano, how to dance, and a few other things. However, he can’t remember the names of his children or where he is. He says he’s never seen a human being and vows that his doctors are incompetent. In fact, on a fairly recent YouTube video, he says he’s never seen a doctor. For more information, you might want to Google the man with the most severe and long lasting case of amnesia in the world.

In the meantime, compare his consciousness to yours. You wake up once in the morning (usually) and know where and who you are; he wakes up hundreds and hundreds of times a day and feels that it’s the FIRST time he’s been conscious in a long, long time.  Can you imagine having no past and no future but a mere 30 seconds (tops) in which to experience your life?

Earliest Recollection

This week in my human development classes, we talked about memory, and one topic was infantile amnesia. For some reason, most people don’t remember anything that happened before they were 2 or 3 years old. Why we don’t know. It could be that the hippocampus, a brain structure instrumental in episodic memories, isn’t developed until then. Then again, the fact that infants aren’t yet proficient in language could be a factor.  

Some psychologists feel that the first memory is significant in telling us something about ourselves and our current relationships, lifestyle, and perhaps even self image. Who was in your first memory? Perhaps more importantly, who was not? What was your role? Were you the center of attention, the pampered baby, the caretaker, or what? And how did you feel? Were you mad, glad, scared, or sad? Of all the things that happened to you in infancy and early childhood, why do you think this one memory stands out? Do you think it has significance for you life today?

Here’s my first memory. I was probably around 3 years old, and I was sitting in the back seat of a car listening to my mother and her mother exchange small talk as my mother parked the car. She said something to my grandmother and then got out of the car. I’m not sure where she was going, but I wasn’t alarmed because I knew she’d be back. My brother Mike, however, became extremely distressed. He began to cry as if his little heart was broken, and I reached over and put my arm around his shoulder, whispering that everything would be fine…that our sweet mama would be right back. My grandmother was a great gal, but she didn’t seem to be involved (in my memory at least) in comforting Mike.

Even today, if he’s upset, I’m upset. I’m also protective. If one of my own children were to say something like, “I saw Uncle Mike wearing yellow polka dot running shorts and an orange hat,” I’d say, “So? What’s wrong with that?” Oh, and about our grandmother. She was cool lady, always loving but never cloying, intrusive, smothering, or demanding.

First memory. Mine’s of my brother, and it has significance to my life today. What’s yours? Come on and share. Maybe we can figure out what it means.

Down Memory Lane

We’re currently studying memory in PSY 201, and just to make things interesting, I’d like for you to recall your earliest recollection and do some thinking about it.  Psychologists agree that most people are around two and 1/2 or three in their first memory, and that could be because that’s when your hippocampus, which is instrumental in episodic memory,  matured. 

How old were you? Who was there with you? Perhaps more importantly, who wasn’t there who  should have been? What was going on, and what was your role? Were you the center of attention, the big brother or sister,  the pampered one? What emotions were you experiencing? Big question: Do you think this early memory relates to your current lifestyle?

I’ll start. My earliest memory takes place when I was around three years old. My younger brother and I were sitting in the back seat of a car, and my maternal grandmother was in the front. My mother had darted out to a store and was only  going to be gone for a moment. I evidently knew this, but my brother didn’t, and he was quite upset when she walked away from the car. I remember trying to console him…as did my grandmother. Today I still look at myself as the “big sister.” I could provide more details, but that’s enough to get us started. 

Your turn. Please share your first recollection and how it might apply to your current lifestyle or self-image.