Memory doesn't belong to you! Nature Sub-journal New Study: Collective Memory Changes Individual Memory.

Xinzhiyuan report source: reverse editor: Daming, is your memory true? A recent article in nature communications suggests that "collective memory" expressed through cultural cues, media and public attitudes can integrate and change individual memories, and each person has a special area in his or her brain to store these collective memories.and the difference between personal experience and collective memory will strongly affect personal well-being.check the link on the right to learn more! The so-called history can be regarded as a collection of time, facts and characters, but at a deeper level, history is a story handed down from generation to generation that combines these facts.a recent study shows that these stories leave an indelible mark on our brains in the form of "collective memory".brain scans analyzed by French scientists show that our brains actually record "collective memory" in the medial prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain involved in decision-making and memory.collective memory is embodied by cultural implication, media communication or public attitude.importantly, these collective memories are not necessarily facts.on the contrary, they may be selective event profiles that allow us to organize historical facts into a coherent story.Pierre Gagnepain, one of the authors of the study, said the findings suggest that culture can penetrate deep into our brains and ultimately shape the way each of us remembers.the paper was recently published in nature communications.gagnepahn said: "history depends largely on the description of the witnesses.but what happens if these people's memories are influenced and biased by collective narratives? This is an important reason to study how collective memory and personal memory work together, because it is difficult to understand individual memory without fully understanding collective memory, and vice versa."how collective memory reshapes personal memory, we must find a perfect example of how to record the overall narrative in the brain.the researchers selected news broadcasts in France that discussed World War II from 1980 to 2010, as well as Real World War II photos displayed at the Cain Memorial Museum.researchers studied how French collective memory of World War II triggered specific patterns of brain activity in French citizens.includes a wide recognition of the atrocities of the Holocaust and the recognition of France's role as a state in the expulsion and killing of Jews.at the museum, the scientists organized a visit, which referred to the themes they found in French news broadcasts, and had 24 people visit the museum by themselves, including historical photos. the next day, the scientists asked visitors to say whether they still remember the pictures they saw yesterday, and scanned their brains. fMRI analysis showed that collective memory or social narration of historical events was also recorded in the brain. blue represents what scientists believe is the brain region that processes these collective memories. through the analysis of brain activity, people can not only remember the content of these photos, but also remember the larger narrative theme behind those photos. this narrative memory shows different patterns in the brain, suggesting that the medial prefrontal cortex can remember "collective narrative.". What's important is that these collective views are incredibly powerful. the research team pointed out in the paper that when people are asked to remember something, they will replace their actual experience with these collective memories, which shows that these memories are "co constructed" by collective memory and personal memory, which are interwoven with the brain's coding of memory. Br / > what kind of collective memory does this kind of narrative lead to? The Caen Memorial Museum records the history of the Second World War in France, especially after the Normandy invasion. Historical bias tends to ignore people's views. mainstream historical narratives may not always include recognition of everyone's experience and contribution. Columbus was known as a heroic explorer in history, but in fact, he brought violence and disease to the unrecognized Aboriginal community. the contributions of a large number of female scientists and mathematicians to NASA's landmark projects, such as the Apollo program, have also been largely ignored. gagnepahn says mainstream narratives that don't contain multiple perspectives can hurt people whose own experiences are not defined by the narrative. he explained that sharing these memories elicits a strong social will and encourages people to share experiences with others. ganepahan said: "collective memory constitutes a common framework that can expand individual thinking and support interpersonal communication and memory sharing among different people. "but what happens if this" common "experience is actually not suitable for your life? The authors of this paper believe that this may play a fundamental role in our happiness. however, when people's actual memory does not match the narrative, or ignores the narrative, it may damage people's mental health. this paper takes a comprehensive philosophical approach to memory neuroscience, showing the different and unique ways in which two narratives are encoded in our brains. we may still not know how these markers in the brain affect us, but they do. reference link: