#memory science

Memory consolidation, the storing of memory in the brain, is a complex neurological process involving neural structure and protein synthesis. It reoccurs every time we access a memory.

Memory is also stored in separate places in the brain: the auditory, visual, emotional, etc parts of a memory are all stored separately (auditory cortex, visual cortex, and amygdala, respectively, for these examples.)

When we access a memory, the consolidation process happens again, and it is subtly different each time. (I'd call memory a learning process because of this, but I don't know if that's accurate.) Rather than being a video record of the past, memories are essentially updated to maintain relvancy to the present and future.

The process is also specialized - each separate component of memory can be updated independently. The theory behind why this happens is that more we know about an experience, the better able we are to adapt to similar experiences in the future.

This process - the subtle rewriting of memory every time it is recalled - is called memory re-consolidation.

So why, for someone who has been traumatized, does material containing elements associated with that experience have the potential to harm, help, or even remain neutral? It's because every time we engage with a representation of our trauma, we access that memory, and it is re-consolidated with the added context of what we know and how we feel now.

The article discusses a volunteer firefighter who had a traumatic experience, and found that talking about it a few weeks later resolved his post-traumatic symptoms. With research, he established a link between talking about a traumatic event and healing from the pain it caused. He eventually published a paper suggesting traumatized people undergo debriefing as soon as possible, in order to prevent PTSD.

Over time, however, it was discovered this doesn't work very well. In fact, it tends to have the opposite effect - it makes things worse, and makes people more likely to develop PTSD, and is in the process of being discontinued. Why?

Right after a traumatic event is the worst time to re-consolidate the memory, because the emotional context is still deeply negative. The worse you feel about an event when you talk about it, the more harshly the emotional component of that memory will be re-consolidated. It can still be useful to get something off your chest even when you feel bad about it, and supportive feedback and self-talk can re-re-consolidate, but it's likely to reinforce negative feelings at least temporarily.

By contrast, the establishment of emotional distance from the event, and voluntary disclosure in a safe space, re-consolidates traumatic memory with positive or neutral emotional context. This is what the firefighter experienced, and why talking resolved his symptoms.

Engaging with representations of one's trauma, like fiction or kink, while still in the depths of very negative emotions, reinforces the memory with more negativity. Again, strong mediation via support and self-support can help, but people don't always have that.

Doing the same things with established emotional distance, in a safe environment, with a positive or neutral emotional context, updates the memory to reduce its pain. We recontextualize the memory and alleviate painful feelings. We also reinforce our feelings of agency, and reaffirm our self-determination.

Context is everything.

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