Lisa Genova's "Remember"

As my two-and-a-half-year-old nephew's language ability blossoms, his fully-formed sentences and playful observations are changing how I perceive him. In my mind's eye, the adored baby-turned-toddler is gradually being replaced by a self-actualized person. This has led me to wonder: why am I able to remember so little from my life when I was his age? He is progressing through an undeniably formative period, yet how many specific memories of our time together now will he remember in 20 years?

Lisa Genova is best known as the author of Still Alice, a novel about early onset Alzheimer's disease. In Remember, she has written a compact primer on what we know about human memory. Although the book does delve into memory loss, early chapters focus on memory creation. I learned that the hippocampus region of the brain, which I once thought was a storage space for memories, is better thought of as "memory weaver." It links together collections of neurons from all over the brain that were activated together in a certain pattern in response to a stimulus. When we remember something, those neurons are activated in the same way as they were during the original experience. In a way, we are literally re-living an experience when we remember it.

This isn't a self-help book, but Genova does explain the basics of memory formation, including some tips for creating enduring memories. Our brains process a torrent of stimuli. Out of necessity, our brain's default is to not create memories. Attention is a prerequisite for memory formation: you can't expect to remember where you put your glasses if you never paid any real attention to where you laid them down. Novelty and emotion are correlated with memory encoding. The potential for meaning is also a catalyst. Genova recounts a study that used chess piece placement to test memory formation. Pieces were set up in realistic game formations and subjects were allowed five seconds to view them. Chess experts could remember the placement of about six times as many pieces as novices. But when the experiment was repeated with unrealistic piece positions, the chess experts did no better than the novices. The inherent meaning of realistically placed pieces conveyed a massive memory boost to those who knew the game.

I had the interesting experience of rereading parts of this book about two years after I first read it (a personal experiment in memory formation—or lack thereof!). Writing is an act of attention, so maybe enumerating a few bullet points will help me retain these interesting bits:

• Eyewitness memory is notoriously flawed and highly susceptible to leading questions. Surprisingly, writing down observations about an event leads to a less accurate account. The act of trying to capture an experience in writing tends to highlight a narrow set of details while omitting many others.

• "Tip of your tongue" (TOT) memory lapses are totally normal and happen regularly to healthy individuals throughout life (even 25-year-olds experience several per week). Names are especially likely to be the subjects of TOT blocks since they are abstract and likely have fewer existing associations in memory.

• Even though it can be discouraging how quickly entire college courses can disappear from memory, there is evidence that trace memories make relearning content easier. I experienced this about ten years ago when I had to relearn linear algebra (it has since been purged from my memory once again).

• Stress affects memory. Acute stress releases norepinephrine, which signals memory consolidation. But chronic stress has many unhealthy effects, including a degraded ability to retrieve memories.

• When it comes to memory, sleep is where the magic happens. New neural patterns experienced during your waking hours are re-enacted in sleep. This process is thought to be related to memory formation. In experiments, even napping has been shown to improve memory, although these are not a replacement for a good night's sleep.

• While you are sleeping, glial cells in your brain clean up metabolic debris that accumulates when you are awake. One of the substances that is processed by these cells is amyloid—a protein considered to be a predictive marker of Alzheimer's.

• Alzheimer's disease is a devastating scourge and a vexing problem for researchers. But there are several evidence-backed strategies that can support healthy memory and prevent dementia. Sleep is first among these. Healthy diet, adequate amounts of vitamin D and omega 3, exercise, and novel cognitive stimulation (not just crossword puzzles!) are all associated with healthier memory later in life.

In several poignant sections, Genova recounts a friend's experience of early-onset Alzheimer's. She points out the tragedy of losing one's memories and the evaporation of identity that accompanies late-stage dementia. As technology increasingly allows us to outsource cognitive functions—especially memory—to our various devices, I wonder how this will alter, enhance, or detract from our own identities. The Star Trek franchise includes several excellent episodes in which years-worth of memories are "downloaded" into a person in a short period of time (with both tragic and bittersweet results). The contemporary show Severance also plays with ideas of memory and identity with haunting effect.

Remember is a readable and relatable look at our wonderful brains. It's an excellent review of the science of memory. As a teacher—and a science fiction fan—I found it to be a worthwhile read.