memory loss

Are there ways to regain lost memories? I mean besides hypnosis. And more permanently? And what are the best ways to prevent memory loss? And, lastly, can you actually "brain dump" memory permanently? thanks

Preventing memory loss is an impossible feat as almost everyone normally forgets information. As for your question, it depends on a variety of factors but at the end of the day, keeping something permanently in memory throughout your entire life without any alteration to it is not possible. When you have new sensory information coming in and your brain tries to make sense of it, previous relevant memories are recalled. During this recall process (and similarly re-storing), it is slightly altered.

Hypnosis is controversial for a few reasons. The best analogy of not being in hypnosis or any other altered state is akin to a skilled blacksmith. When someone is put into hypnosis, it's hard to know whether any memory the person recalls is accurate. It's akin to the blacksmith being given a blindfold with small holes in it; he can still see but he cant ensure the item he's making will actually be amazing.

As for brain dump, I'm not exactly sure I understand what you mean. Are you asking whether you can record (i.e. verbally or written) all information you can consciously retrieve about a certain topic? It's possible but extremely difficult. Think of it like an old school movie reel, only each segment contains branches to other reels. Some of these branches may connect to the same reel, some may not. In other words, as you begin recalling information, you're processing similar related events, so you're not 100% focused (consciously and otherwise) on 1 task at hand.

If I misunderstood what you meant by brain dump, feel free to correct me.

the only thing i will comment on in this thread is that, they have those brain trainging games- don't they?. like for games consoles

i am sure if you play them a bit, it will improve memory.. as you are actively using it

but that's all i can think of. i can't think of any other way

I mean brain dump as a term to "trash, delete, dump" information, or memory. Gone, rather than "in the back of your mind". Your answer has made me sad haha. Darn.

Completely deleting information is possible in 3 ways. The ones that are include traumatic brain injury (no way to know if any information would be lost, to what extent, what type of information, and if there are any other symptoms), medications (side-effect of reduced memory but not for any particular memory instance) or entering the brain to intentionally cause lacerations in certain areas (animal experiments only, sometimes for human surgeries). The latter would be more specific to a category of memories but neither will target a specific memory instance. The reason this isn't feasible is memories are stored all over the brain, so by damaging 1 area with the latter method, you could destroy all conscious knowledge of one's life prior to a surgery. There are many human case studies of this, one of the most well-known is of H.M. (Henry Molaison).

My apologies, I did not intend to make you sad.

well it's certainly not your fault no apology necessary. Thank you again for taking the time to answer.

I watched a doco on memory the other day. They said that juggling for 10 minutes a day can improve your memory. Online memory games and practicing to memorise things are all helpful to improving your memory. The guy in the doco went from an ordinary guy to being able to memorise a whole pack of cards with very little trouble within a month

I've been juggling ever since but still cant quite get the hang of it haha.

HAHA Supanova,

I been trying to juggle for years. My husband has a bad memory problem. I have panic and anxiety, so I try to understand, but it really drives me crazy, cause it seems to be getting much worse. Mostly, its short term memory! I can send him to the store for something and he forgets half of it. I try writing it down, but then he forget the note in the car, and wont go back out to get it. He is a Viet Nam Veteran, but they had a big problem here with keeping doctors. He finally gave up trying to get an appointment. Even though I been bugging him. We have only been married since 2005 and I heard he has had this problem for a while before then?

iwalkwithjesus, I have been using alarms in my phone to remind me to do stuff. I'll put one in for a random time around when I know i'll need it. like, grab the list, and i'll set it for when i'm planning on leaving and however long after it takes to get there. it has helped sooo much. I also use sticky notes on my computer where I have to see them. So, you may try helping out by leaving reminder notes where you know he will see them?

I meant to add too that if I tell him something tonight, he will swear I didn't tell him. He's not a drinker and he don't do any drugs. He cant remember anything for nothing! No, that's a lie sometimes he does remember, but very seldom. I'm worried about Altzheimers?

There are other symptoms of alzheimers besides memory. It's also rare for anyone to develop it before 65. I happen to have 9 out of 10 of the symptoms. scary to me, but i'm only 24. There are a lot of things that can explain his problem. you didn't say how old he was, but you could always make an appointment with his doctor and voice your concerns. The notes may help more than just saying because it gives him a visual, something he has to read, not something he may be subconsciously ignoring. (which is not unusual between spouses ) Gives a different part of his brain to pay attention....