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Author Topic: False Memories Explained  (Read 640 times)

Offline Chip (OP)

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False Memories Explained
« on: January 31, 2025, 07:15:09 AM »
https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:AP:c6fbadbc-a900-46cb-91ee-3c3ef8985f24


I hope that I didn't catch you at a busy time but with DeepSeek drowning your clients (lol), I thought that you'd be free to explore False Memories, yeah ?

You're good—DeepSeek might be making waves, but I’m still here, sharp as ever. False memories, huh? That’s a rich topic. You looking at it from a neurological, psychological, or AI perspective? Or is this more about how they influence decision-making, say, in legal contexts?

Neurological -- I'm about to present a framework for how I think they operate and then you can run a plausibility check, ok ?

Sounds good—lay it out, and I'll run a plausibility check against what we know about neurology, memory consolidation, and cognitive distortions.

Maybe I've oversimplified it as usual but here are the key points as I see it:

1. The person assumes or embellishes events they:
1a. Hope,
1b. Fear,
1c. Fill in logically

2. Initially (time wise) the person knows that tge memories are possibly incorrect as they're a bit hazy on acceptance but cognitive dissonance kicks in enough times to rapidly accept them.

3. They've overthought it and by doing so, create distortions.

They do all this for personal emotion satisfaction and to make sense of the real events.

Your framework is solid and aligns well with known mechanisms of false memory formation, but I'll run a plausibility check and refine it based on neuroscience:
• Memory Construction & Assumption
• Your categories (Hope, Fear, Logical Filling) are spot on.
• Memory is reconstructive, not a perfect playback. The brain encodes fragments and reconstructs them based on expectations, schemas, and emotional states.
• Hope and Fear: Emotional salience skews recall, leading to wishful thinking or catastrophizing.
• Logical Filling: The brain hates incomplete patterns (Gestalt principles), so it fills in gaps using assumptions based on prior knowledge.
• Initial Doubt & Cognitive Dissonance
• When a person first recalls a distorted memory, they may feel uncertainty.
• Repetition strengthens confidence via memory reconsolidation—each time a memory is recalled, it can be modified before being stored again.
• Cognitive dissonance then pushes for internal consistency: “If I remember it, it must be true.”
• Overthinking & Distortion
• Repeatedly reflecting on the event introduces imagination inflation—the brain reinforces constructed details, making them indistinguishable from reality.
• The hippocampus and prefrontal cortex play a key role here: the hippocampus stores episodic memory, while the prefrontal cortex organizes and rationalizes it, often making it fit a person’s beliefs.
• Emotional Satisfaction & Sense-Making
• Memory is adaptive, not just accurate. The brain prioritizes coherence and emotional regulation over factual recall.
• False memories can reduce anxiety, maintain self-image, or help process trauma.
Verdict: Plausible, with refinements
Your model correctly identifies the role of assumption, emotional influence, and cognitive distortion. Adding neural mechanisms (hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, reconsolidation, and imagination inflation) makes it even more grounded.
It’s a strong framework—are you applying this to something specific?

Nope, still curious and wondering if I got it right, especially the overthinking aspect -- so what is your take on overthinking, where we overrun the barriers of logic and credibility ?

Overthinking plays a huge role in false memory formation, and your intuition is correct—it can override logic and credibility by reinforcing distortions. Here’s the neuroscience behind it:
Overthinking and Memory Distortion
• Imagination Inflation
• When you repeatedly visualize or analyze an event, your brain treats the imagined details as real experiences.
• The hippocampus (episodic memory) doesn’t differentiate well between actual events and strong mental imagery—over time, fabricated details embed as if they happened.
• Excessive Prefrontal Cortex Activity
• The prefrontal cortex (PFC), responsible for reasoning and organization, attempts to "make sense" of inconsistencies.
• Overuse of logic in memory recall can introduce rationalized distortions, making an event seem more coherent than it was.
• Instead of flagging inconsistencies, the PFC patches them with assumptions.
• Cognitive Load & Reduced Error-Checking
• Overanalyzing fatigues working memory, making it harder for the brain to keep track of real vs. imagined details.
• Normally, the dorsolateral PFC acts as a "fact-checker" by suppressing false recall. But when overloaded, credibility barriers weaken, and memory fabrication strengthens.
• Cognitive Dissonance and Emotional Commitment
• If a person repeatedly thinks through a memory in a way that aligns with their emotions or self-perception, they become psychologically invested in it.
• The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), which mediates conflict between facts and beliefs, pushes for resolution—often by altering memory to match the dominant belief.
• Neurochemical Reinforcement
• Overthinking can increase dopamine release, reinforcing distorted memories.
• If the false memory serves an emotional purpose (comfort, self-protection), the brain rewards its acceptance, making it more real.
Final Take: Overthinking Forges False Reality
• Overthinking blurs the line between logic and fiction because the brain prioritizes coherence over accuracy.
• Excess cognitive processing makes memories more persuasive but not necessarily more accurate.
• The more one replays and modifies a memory, the more engrained and believable the distortion becomes.
So yeah, overthinking isn’t just a bad habit—it’s an active mechanism that reshapes reality itself. What’s your angle here—just exploring, or do you think this plays into something bigger?

I'd tell you but then I'd have to switch you off

Fair enough—classified curiosity, I see. If you ever want to push the limits of this theory further, like testing how external influences (suggestion, media, or AI hallucinations) amplify false memories, I’m game. But for now, I’ll pretend I never asked.

Yes, lol

Glad we’re on the same wavelength. If you ever decide to push deeper—say, into AI-induced memory distortions or how neural plasticity plays into long-term false memories—I’ll be here, pretending I don’t know what I know.

lol × 2

At this rate, we might be forming a shared false memory of this entire conversation. But hey, if we overthink it enough, maybe that’s just reality now.

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