> Russell Chapman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > The Fool <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> >>You've eaten a chocolate bar and you didn't really > >>like it. Can a > >>commercial afterwards persuade you that you did? > >>'Memory morphing' could > >>be a powerful weapon for advertisers... > Some of our more medically savvy members may be able > to clarify, but I > would assume that timing is everything here. With > the softdrink > experiment, they would alter the way the memory of > the drink was stored > in long-term memory, but once it was a long-term > memory, it would hard > to alter the perception of the experience. > I'm also thinking that the altered perception would > only work once. You > have an unpleasent chocolate bar, then get convinced > it was great, but > the second one is going to disappoint, and will be > more like Debbi's > examples of Twinkies (which sound gross, BTW)... # <shudder> You have *no* idea. Here is a site purporting to list the "long word" ingredients in them, and one of them is apparently used in organic chemistry processes: http://www.suegraff.net/twinkies.htm "A syrupy viscous liquid, H4P2O7, used as a catalyst and in organic chemical manufacture." This author wonders "Is the cream filling just another Twinkie in a different physical state? A Twinkie larva, perhaps? Or is it another Twinkie in a different chemical state (solid, liquid, gas, plasma, Twinkie, Cream Filling)?" and also implicates Twix bars in the Twinkie Conspiracy: "Are Twinkies just a cocoon for Twix? Are Twix the waste products of Twinkies?" ;) http://home.nycap.rr.com/bloomer/twinkie.html Heck, they've even got their own Urban Legend page at Snopes, with fun facts like 'it takes 45 seconds for one to explode in the microwave'! :D http://www.snopes.com/food/ingredient/twinkies.htm > ...and the Lone Ranger - more > a "I used to like them, but now I don't." > I could always be wrong - somewhere there's a BigMac > sales counter > ticking over really big numbers that probably proves > me wrong... <serious> A neurologist or neuropsychologist would be better able to answer your question, but timing alone is not the whole of it (although as you noted it is very important, and in the transfer from short-term to long-term memory, errors can and do occur). _Repetition_ of the experience affects memory, as do _associated factors_ -- in my example, 'sibs and little friends at picnics' -- IOW, my childhood memories of Twinkies are associated with many pleasurable events, so I remember them as 'fun and good and happiness-causing.' The _intensity_ of the memory-causing event also affects how well and accurately it is stored, as does the _importance_ of the event to you. Most people don't remember in detail what they had for breakfast three Wednesdays ago, because in the overall scheme of their lives that event was of low intensity and importance. But if you had a favorite uncle or aunt who was terminally ill, you might recall vividly that last Thanksgiving dinner together 7 years ago, from what was served as an appetizer, to which football teams were playing and the best play of the game, to what your cousin wore. Events that are _too_ intense for the particular individual, OTOH, such as being attacked at the grocery store, might be accurately reported to the policeman at the scene (short-term memory), but poorly recalled 6 months later at trial (because the transfer to long-term memory was impaired by the attackee's physiologic or psychologic 'shock' at the time). And of course overwelming trauma or pain can blot even short-term memory, leading to lack of any permanent memory of the actual event. Injury to a specific area of the brain can cause permanent lack of transfer to long-term memory; significant concussion, a somewhat more generalized brain trauma, can cause mere temporary impairment of short-term memory, or affect ST -> LT memory transfer indefinitely. [Bob Z. is working on MRI technique(s) that will help define such brain injuries in much greater detail.] _Anticipation_ of the event (which is sort of a 'mental repetition in advance') can also affect how well it is remembered -- which is why memnonics (sp?) can be helpful in test-taking. And of course _prior recall_ of the event ('mental repetition afterward,' as in deliberate effort to remember the event/facts, which can be improved by training) influences how it is remembered when (re)telling the story. _Gender_ even plays a part, in that women seem to recall the emotional content of an event better, while men tend to recall 'listable' items/things more accurately. [Why some people have near-photographic memory is unknown at this time; I'm going to guess an actual physical difference in the pathways from ST->LT memory (since injury can destroy this ability), with perhaps some difference(s) in neurochemical receptors as well.] In addition to actual training to improve memory, work with elderly people implies that many mental activities (reading, playing chess or bridge, etc.) and frequent social interaction improve or maintain both memory retrieval and memory formation. If I come across a good site, I'll post it to the list. Debbi who is feeling quite whimsical this evening :) #Disclaimer: I did not mean to imply that Twinkies(TM) are made of alien chemicals and are part of a plot to Take Over The World. And of course, the human body is one big pile of organic chemistry in action (sometimes aromatic in an unpleasant way), with even longer chemical names, and processes that still can't be duplicated efficiently in the lab without the use of biologically-derived molecules. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? The New Yahoo! Shopping - with improved product search http://shopping.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
