The importance of forgetting for our mental health

"Touuuuut … we should forget everything. (…) This happiness, if I want it I will have it. " The song of the young singer Angèle that we are not ready to forget recalls a fundamental truth that our performance society has, it seems, well forgotten: forgetting is necessary for good mental health.

Recently, a published article in The Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition raises the fact that, in our vision of things, forgetting often has a negative connotation. It is associated with a defect, a limitation of the spirit, a " bug " of our brain. So much so that we humans have developed a whole bunch of strategies consisting of cognitive exercises, taking food supplements, medications (more or less effective, but that's not the subject) and data storage for do not forget. Indeed, it is easy to remember (or maybe not, suddenly) the last time we forgot something in a conversation and how annoyed it was for us.

It is, of course, necessary to distinguish forgetting and its virtues which researchers discuss in their article of forgetting pathological found in most neurodegenerative diseases as Madness or Alzheimer. However, as we have just pointed out, forgetting has virtues necessary for human life. But by the way, how and why do we forget?

The mechanisms of forgetting

Oblivion generally occurs when attention, for different reasons, favors certain details over others when the brain is in the process of encoding new information. However, even during this encoding, it can still forget, if the information is contradictory (for example, if one clicks on an article with enticing title and that one notes that the content is in total inadequacy with this last) or if information fails to be treated properly. However, when information is finally encoded, it can still be easily forgotten.

Several theories clash to explain how we come to forget something. On the side of neurobiology, we talk about decomposition of memories, perhaps due to the death of certain neurons or certain connections within the brain. In cognitive psychology, an undisputed theory is that of interference. Rather, it suggests that experiences compete with each other, which results in the disruption of previous learning by new ones and vice versa. Other theories exist, but they are more discussed and do not reach consensus.

The three agents and the seven virtues

The authors have summarized the need for forgetting our health in three agents and seven virtues, each agent conferring a given number of virtues.

First of all, there is “the guardian” who is responsible for keeping our " serenity "and our" stability ". Thanks to him, we avoid crossing paths too often with certain emotional consequences past events, either by making them relatively inaccessible, or by weakening their emotional properties. It also facilitates forgiveness, helping us to overcome negative actions of others and to motivate us despite recent adversity.

Then there is "The bookseller" who strives to preserve our "clarity" and our "capacities for revision and abstraction". It makes sure that we get rid of the details that will probably not be important later. In addition, it allows us to update experiences and memories with new information to maximize their relevance and minimize their competition. Also, the bookseller helps us to " digestion mental 'through which specific details are lost, allowing broad commonalities via similar experiences to emerge and form a knowledge base more general.

And finally, there is the "inventor" who takes care of preserving our "inspiration" and our "ability to rediscover". He rejects preconceived ideas and fixations from the past, allowing us to identify creative solutions to new problems. It also allows us to reconnect with activities or people belonging to our past and therefore give a second chance to all things.

Mental Health vs. cognitive biases?

To conclude, we will simply say that if forgetting is necessary for our good mental health, it constantly reminds us of our human limits. Also, perhaps some of these roles may be more boring in the fight against our socio-cognitive biases and the achievement of a less biased society. Will you have to choose between a calm mind or a biased brain? Or is there hidden other solutions in the meanders of this false dilemma?

Brain: the virtues of forgetting

Through Marie-Céline Ray 06/22/2017

Forgetting is essential tointelligence human because it allows you to focus on what is important. Efficient memory cannot be understood as an accumulation of data: keeping too precise information can indeed be counterproductive.

In general, it is considered that a good memory allows to retain a lot of information over a long period. In neurobiology, these problems often reveal pathologies. But forgetting remains essential for the proper functioning of the brain. This is what two researchers from the University of Toronto recall in a new article in Neuron, where they draw a parallel between the human memory and artificial memory.

The brain it does not only store data, it also strives to erase them. As Blake Richards, one of the two researchers explains, "It is important that the brain forgets irrelevant details and instead focuses on the things that will help make decisions in the real world". According to the authors, the objective of memory is not to transmit the most faithful information, but rather to optimize decision-making by keeping only those of value.

Forgetting is as important as remembering

Certain mechanisms promote memory loss. One is to weaken, if not eliminate, synaptic connections between neurons which are used to code the memory. Another mechanism generates new ones from stem cells : when the neurons fit into thesea ​​horse, the new connections reshape the existing circuits, which makes access to certain information more complicated. This would explain why children, with whomsea ​​horse produces more new neurons, forget a lot of information.

Forgetting allows you to adapt to new situations by leaving out dated and misleading information that is not necessarily useful in a changing environment. "If you try to navigate the world and your brain constantly emits multiple conflicting memories, it makes it more difficult to make an informed decision" explains Blake Richards.

Source: The Persistence and Transience of Memory