It has happened to all of us at some point that, for some reason, we realize that For a few seconds or minutes we are unable to think about something specific or to remember those elements that we are looking for in the archive of our memory, no matter how basic they may be.
For example, when speaking in public it may happen that we are not even able to remember what the basic message we want to communicate was, let alone the lines of the script that we had prepared. It can also occur in more conventional contexts. For example, when at a meeting of friends we are left without any idea what to say, even if what was being talked about was a topic on which giving an opinion is relatively easy.
This phenomenon is known as going blank, and it has an explanation which has to do with the way in which memory is related to certain psychological states.
The first thing to keep in mind to understand why we sometimes go blank is that all our mental activity, even in its most insignificant aspects, has to do with our memories.
Memory is not simply a warehouse in which some little man who manages the functioning of our brain accumulates relevant information. Everything we are and do is expressed through our actions because in the past we have internalized all types of experiences. A brain totally devoid of memory is inconceivable because everything that happens in our brain has to do with the imprint that past experiences have left on our brain.
In short, memories are not simply those pieces of information that we retain from experiences that have happened to us, nor the data that we strive to memorize. Memory is the way in which a smell makes us feel bad because we associate it with something that happened to us years ago, and also It is the way in which we have learned to relate certain ideas to each other allowing our thoughts to flow without great efforts.
Going blank is a sign that our memory is suffering a small crisis in its basic functioning. For some reason, a good portion of our memories have been temporarily out of reach, and that causes thinking to hit dead ends for a while.
The role of stress in memory recovery
Sometimes the appearance of moments in which we go blank may be due to defects in the parts of the brain involved in retrieving memories For example, one of the main symptoms of dementia is poor recovery of memories.
However, this same phenomenon (with less intensity and frequency) is also normal in perfectly healthy brains. In these situations, stress plays a very important role. When we go through moments of anxiety, many of the mental processes that govern the functioning of the brain change completely.
Anxiety may seem like a small thing if we interpret it only as an annoying feeling, but It is actually accompanied by a neurochemical chain reaction which affects the entire nervous system and the release of hormones that target different organs in our body. And, of course, anxiety also influences memory.
Specifically, when we feel stressed, parts of our body known as the adrenal glands (because they are located above the kidneys) begin to secrete a variety of hormones known as glucocorticoids These chemicals are not only responsible for our inability to remember what happened to us in times when we were experiencing very high acute stress (such as a motorcycle accident); besides, significantly diminish our ability to access memories we have already stored and that we could have remembered just a few minutes ago.
The effect of glucocorticoids on the hippocampus
When we start to feel stress, such as before an exam, our nervous system goes into a state of alert that it associates with dangerous situations. This means that our body becomes an alarm that reacts to signs of danger that in other contexts would have been ignored because they were unimportant, that is, brain activation is oriented towards receiving external stimuli
This allows you to start moving quickly to avoid damage, but for this you pay the price of not dedicating too many resources to reasoning or thinking in a minimally creative way, which is what is necessary to articulate moderately elaborate sentences.
In these situations, glucocorticoids completely interfere with the functioning of the hippocampus, a part of the brain known to be the directory of memories that can be expressed verbally (declarative memory). As long as the levels of this hormone are high, the hippocampus will have more difficulties normal when it comes to accessing memories and associations between concepts learned through experience.
Besides, the effects of glucocorticoids do not disappear just as acute stress disappears Their levels persist for a long time, and if we experience chronic stress, their levels will almost never go down completely, which means that we will experience these blackouts more frequently. That’s why the moments when we go blank don’t just happen when we feel very nervous; They may be part of the consequences of having felt anxiety continuously.
