www.womanthismonth.com 49 September 2012 | Your memory is your brain The human brain is highly complex and features many different ‘compartments’ each that does something unique. One way to get your head around it (excuse the pun) is by visualising the brain as a library stocked full of memories, instead of books. In this library, the librarian would be the hippocampus — the part of the brain most involved in memory. The hippocampus has a lot of responsibility. It simultaneously juggles the new releases of the short-term memory whilst cataloging materials for the permanent long-term memory section. It’s not the only part at work, however, in storing these chapters of our lives. Information overload Different kinds of memory are stored in different areas of the brain. With such a large system, the brain needs a system of encoding and retrieving memories, something a bit more complex than the local library’s Dewey Decimal System. The brain has to be able to instantly pull information when required; whether you need to remember a fact such as a phone number or a distant memory that’s been sitting in storage for years. Help is at hand Whether you are eight or 80, there are many ways in which you can improve your memory. In fact, it is far easier than you would think. You can progress your memory just as easily as you can your language or maths skills, simply by repeating and practising.
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