r (PTSD) who have survived horrific events experience extreme recall of the event. Some people say they are haunted by memories of traumatic experiences that disrupt their daily lives. They cannot get the pictures of the trauma out of their head. This brings recurring nightmares, flashbacks, or even reliving the trauma as if it were happening now. Vietnam veterans experience this symptom because of what they saw and lived through. Some researchers have proven in the laboratory that ordinary or slightly stressful memories are easily distorted. However, this laboratory research on ordinary memory may be irrelevant in regard to memories of traumatic experiences. Other scientists argue that traumatic memories are different from ordinary memories in the way they are encoded in the brain. Evidence shows trauma is stored in the part of the brain called the limbic system, which processes feelings and sensory input, but not language or speech. (1994) People who have been traumatized may live with memories of terror, though with little or no real memories to explain the feelings. Sometimes a current event may trigger long forgotten memories of earlier trauma. The triggers may be any sound or smell like a particular cologne which was worn by an attacker. Whether remembered or not, the memories are stored in the brain, and today with hypnosis, recall can bring forth what has been deeply suppressed. The question is, does one really want to know what is not remembered? Along with memories that are recovered, comes the effects that follow. Short-term memory holds every experience encountered, while long-term memory retains only what's important. Memory is stored through episodic and semantic memory. The retrieval of decoded information occurs the same way it was encoded. Memory is affected through positive and negative emotions, some remembered others suppressed. Not only is memory used to dwell in the past, it also helps formulate the present and the...
