The human brain is capable of forgetting, or rewriting, unpleasant memories, especially those that would shake the ego to its core, by a self-defense mechanism that replaces them with other memories. In psychological terms, this is called repression, a term proposed by the psychoanalyst Freud.
Recent research has shown that the brain's frontal lobe is involved in this phenomenon of repression.
A research group in the USA has shown that when memories are repressed, part of the frontal lobe becomes active and directs the memory-producing organ, the hippocampus, to not create or erase the memory.
The phenomenon of repression is particularly common in early childhood and is more common in children who have been exposed to disasters, violence, or accidents.
However, these memories are not actually lost but exist in consciousness, and if repressed too severely, they can lead to memory impairment and a mental disorder known as dissociative amnesia.
Even if they do not recall what they experienced, they may experience traumatic feelings of discomfort or fear when they come into contact with things related to the event.
In order to medically understand and treat these phenomena, further understanding of the brain mechanisms involved in repression is expected.
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