Sensory memory: a topic for casual discussion

[Pendulum]

So I was talking to this man earlier today who, at a young age, was involved in an accident with a firecracker and his nose. The end result was that his ability to smell was completely destroyed. It is a well known that smell is far and away the most likely sense to trigger one's memory, as (for the boiled down version) the center of the brain that contains your ability to make new memories is located closest to the part that controls your reaction to smells; his contention was that his own ability to remember things was completely fucked up because he's never really smelled anything... and while he does have issues remembering things, even important things, I believe that is more a part of his character faults for being lazy with remembering what he has to and he's just trying to come up with a plausible bullshit excuse.

While on the topic, does anybody here have knowledge
about what parts of the brain are most active during sleep? He was also saying he can't remember his dreams for the same reason, but I don't know enough neurology to even begin to know where to start looking that up.
So question one: this guy full of shit or what?

As an addendum, I also got into a similar discussion but with a more philosophical bent with a group of people who believed that the one main advantage of humanity over other animals was our ability to efficiently transfer information to another or even successive generations; i.e. the written word. I would (and did) contend that this is wrong; while we can transfer certain things more efficiently, our fragile bodies and slavery to the written word make tactile information impossible to transfer, and that is actually the more important type... knowing stuff just isn't important without having the ability to remember how the topics of information emotionally affect you; thus while he thinks the internet is the
catalyst for a brave new world I believe it may destroy the species because you can't live without emotions and those are either difficult or impossible to transfer from person to person. Any thoughts?

By the way, no I was not stoned while in these discussions.

[DroppinSuga]

This sounds like a cocaine conversation.

[Captain Murphy]

tl;dr

[Pendulum]

Gah, you guys never cease to not in any way surprise me.

[Stardust]

I don't have an answer for you. However, I also don't have a sense of smell. I lost it after a serious concussion when I was 14 - though it took me over a year to relate it back to that incident. My memory is also terrible. So there you go, two data points instead of one.

[Kazekirimaru]

The areas of the brain active during sleep are:
- the Pontine Stem
- the Thalamus
- the Hypothalamus
- the Limbic & Paralymbic Amygdala
- the Anterior Cingulate Cortex
- the Visual Association Cortex
- Right Inferior Parietal Cortex
- Cerebellum
- Primary Motor Cortex

Don't quote me, though.

[Yannaria]

at least anecdotally, i dont smell well because of baaad sinus issues ive had sense i was a kid and my long term memory is pretty good.
it probably effects the way he tastes things more than his memory which most likely is just shitty and the nose issue is just there too but im not a scientist

[Captain Murphy]

I have normal smell, or so I hope

[Yannaria]

This sounds like a cocaine conversation.

ALL I SMELL IS THE MILK POWDER

[Col. Khaddafi]

I don't have an answer for you. However, I also don't have a sense of smell. I lost it after a serious concussion when I was 14 - though it took me over a year to relate it back to that incident. My memory is also terrible. So there you go, two data points instead of one.

I got a surgery to my nose canals and lost quite a bit of my smell, I don't remember having a worse memory since.

2-1

[Yannaria]

I don't have an answer for you. However, I also don't have a sense of smell. I lost it after a serious concussion when I was 14 - though it took me over a year to relate it back to that incident. My memory is also terrible. So there you go, two data points instead of one.

I got a surgery to my nose canals and lost quite a bit of my smell, I don't remember having a worse memory since.

2-1

nasal surgery is fun shit right? I've had it twice.

[Stardust]

I got a surgery to my nose canals and lost quite a bit of my smell, I don't remember having a worse memory since.

2-1

I don't remember having a worse memory since.

I don't remember

Exactly.

[Col. Khaddafi]

I don't have an answer for you. However, I also don't have a sense of smell. I lost it after a serious concussion when I was 14 - though it took me over a year to relate it back to that incident. My memory is also terrible. So there you go, two data points instead of one.

I got a surgery to my nose canals and lost quite a bit of my smell, I don't remember having a worse memory since.

2-1

nasal surgery is fun
shit right? I've had it twice.

Awesome, specially for sleeping at night the next whole week after the surgery

[Col. Khaddafi]

I got a surgery to my nose canals and lost quite a bit of my smell, I don't remember having a worse memory since.

2-1

I don't remember having a worse memory since.

I don't remember

Exactly.

What are we even talking about again?

[Kazekirimaru]

I got a surgery to my nose canals and lost quite a bit of my smell, I don't remember having a worse memory since.

2-1

I don't remember having a worse memory since.

I don't remember

Exactly.

What are we even talking about again?

i c wut u did ther

[Yarpus]

I've had no smell for years. I confirm that I have pretty awfull memory and I don't remember my dreams (but I know they were live-like scenes, pretty detailed).
Still, I don't think it's because of that. He's just air-headed like I am.

[Clownfish]

He was also saying he can't remember his dreams for the same reason, but I don't know enough neurology to even begin to know where to start looking that up.

I'm pretty sure this is wrong. Though some people have a natural aptitude, for most people their dream recall is terrible whether or not they have the sense of smell. This has more to do with the way they approach it. With proper technique and willpower, anyone can remember multiple dreams in any given night fairly easily.

[Yannaria]

I don't have an answer for you. However, I also don't have a sense of smell. I lost it after a serious concussion when I was 14 - though it took me over a year to relate it back to that incident. My memory is also terrible. So there you go, two data points instead of one.[/quote:
rsrk8kh6]
I got a surgery to my nose canals and lost quite a bit of my smell, I don't remember having a worse memory since.

2-1

nasal surgery is fun shit right? I've had it twice.

Awesome, specially for sleeping at night the next whole week after the surgery

I've had two bone spurs removed and I'm still in for a septum relocation early next year

[Pendulum]

He was also saying he can't remember his dreams for the same reason, but I don't know enough neurology to even begin to know where to start looking that up.

I'm pretty sure this is wrong. Though some people have a natural aptitude, for most people their dream recall is terrible whether or not they have the sense of smell. This has more to do with the way they approach it. With proper technique and willpower, anyone can remember multiple dreams in any given night fairly easily.

You......... WANT to remember your dreams?

[Checkbox]

I wish I remembered them more. I should keep one of those dream journal things.

[Clownfish]

He was also saying he can't remember his dreams for the same reason, but I don't know enough neurology to even begin to know where to start looking that up.

I'm pretty sure this is wrong. Though some people have a natural aptitude, for most people their dream recall is terrible whether or not they have the sense of smell. This has more to do with the way they approach it. With proper technique and willpower,
anyone can remember multiple dreams in any given night fairly easily.

You......... WANT to remember your dreams?

Dream recall is the first step towards lucidity

[Kazekirimaru]

Considering half my dreams involve fucking women and half involve something terrifying I'm really torn as to if I want to lucid dream/remember my dreams more completely. Damn.

[Clownfish]

Considering half my dreams involve fucking women and half involve something terrifying I'm really torn as to if I want to lucid dream/remember my dreams more completely. Damn.

Nightmares offer a great opportunity to find out more about yourself, conquer fears and train to handle yourself in shakey situations. I'm not even shitting you, I love nightmares.

[Stardust]

I had a bit of a freaky dream last night where me and my mom were arguing and she kept pulling out a handgun every time I told her she was wrong. After she pulled that for the fifth or so time I grabbed the gun and pushed her to the floor. Then I went and hid the gun in my room and went back down to talk to her again.

What does it mean, Clownfish!?


PS: Don't keep a dream journal. It will be both embarrassing and a waste of time. Sometimes I would be up for a couple hours a night total trying to record them all.

[Clownfish]

I had a bit of a freaky dream last night where me and my mom were arguing and she kept pulling out a handgun every time I told her she was wrong. After she pulled that for the fifth or so time I grabbed the gun and pushed her to the floor. Then I went and hid the gun in my room and went back down to talk to her again.

What does it mean, Clownfish!?

PS: Don't keep a dream journal. It will be both embarrassing and a waste of time. Sometimes I would be up for a couple hours a night total trying to record them all.

I'm guessing you posed the question facetiously, but I'm going to answer seriously anyway for the benefit of the hypothetical third party that is interested in this. Dream interpretation is as personal as it gets, as the
events unfolding in our dreams are based on our expectations and the associations we make as well as recent events. It's highly improbable that somebody else would be able to explain your dream to you better than you yourself could. Also, dreams don't necessarily have a meaning beyond their mere existence. The teleological idea that they exist to express to us some repressed or ephemeral truth is highly speculative at best.

[Stardust]

[Clownfish]

I am at a loss as to what my response to this post should be, so I'll respond to another part of your previous one: why would keeping a dream journal be embarrassing? I know that it's a hassle, but nobody reads it but me.

[DroppinSuga]

I dislike this thread.

[Stardust]

I am at a loss as to what my response to this post should be, so I'll respond to another part of your previous one: why would keeping a dream journal be embarrassing? I know that it's a hassle, but nobody reads it but me.

I wrote this big thing, then deleted it. All you need to know is that I'm not embarrassed for me, but for the me of years ago. It's like reading a diary and remembering just how much of a tool you used to be. In a lot of ways that's amplified by dreaming since (for me at least) they tend to be much more emotionally charged than
real life.

But, whatever, try it if you want to, Boxxy. It was fun at times. Have you ever tried it, Clownfish?

[Kazekirimaru]

I dislike this thread.

It's a natural human reaction to reject things beyond one's comprehension.

[Clownfish]

I am at a loss as to what my response to this post should be, so I'll respond to another part of your previous one: why would keeping a dream journal be embarrassing? I know that it's a hassle, but nobody reads it but me.

I wrote this big thing, then deleted it. All you need to know is that I'm not embarrassed for me, but for the me of years ago. It's like reading a diary and
remembering just how much of a tool you used to be. In a lot of ways that's amplified by dreaming since (for me at least) they tend to be much more emotionally charged than real life.

Ah, that I get. I do find my old notes funny in a Fawlty Towers-level cringe kind of way. I don't have an old dream diary specifically, but a lot of notes and ramblings from periods tinged by insanity.

But, whatever, try it if you want to, Boxxy. It was fun at times. Have you ever tried it, Clownfish?

Yes. I use it mainly for the purposes of lucid dream induction, but I actually have a lot of fun and interesting dreams even when I'm not lucid.