認知科學家：你的記憶可被竄改

每當談到記憶研究，大家第一時間聯想到的通常是「遺忘」相關的問題，像是健忘或阿茲海默症，反而沒有注意到自己認為牢牢記住的事情，其實與客觀的現實有很大的出入。如果我們能對記憶與現實的落差有所認知，就能讓我們對於記憶有多脆弱這件事情多一分警醒。 Memory probably isn't as good as we think it is. When we create new memories, our neurons create new connections in order to encode the memory. These new connections are then stored and established again when it is recalled. However, every time we recall a memory, we add slight variations to it. In our daily life, this isn't a bug, instead, it's a feature. We can't possibly remember every tiny detail we see, but our memories would feel incomplete if there were big swaths of gray running through them. So, the brain fills in the details as best it can, borrowing from other memories and the imagination in order to build what feels like a complete picture. 記憶可能沒我們想的可靠，當我們製造新的記憶，大腦神經就會為了串連這些記憶，創造出新的神經連結，這些連結會被儲存起來，等待記憶被喚起後再度重建。然而，每喚起一次記憶，大腦就會針對記憶做出些微的調整。這個機制對我們日常生活來說，不是問題，反而是幫助。畢竟我們無法將生活瑣事記得鉅細靡遺，但如果就放任這些空白的記憶片段留在腦海，我們的記憶就會不完整，所以為了幫我們補全記憶的完整度，大腦會自動借用其它的記憶和想像畫面，來彌補所有空白記憶的細節。

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• Chieh Yuan