Repressed memories are an extremely interesting and controversial topic in psychology. What is very interesting about the topic is how powerful the brain could be to repress traumatic memories of things such as sexual abuse. What makes this topic so controversial is the fact that it is not possible to distinguish a true repressed memory from a false one without corroborating evidence. Some psychologists believe that repressed memories can be recovered through therapy while other psychologists argue that false memories are created by blending true memories and influences of the therapist and/or other outside influences. It is difficult for some to believe that a person could actually completely forget about traumatic experiences such as sexual abuse or rape. On the other hand, there has been research using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to prove that the brain has the ability to suppress memories.
It is very difficult to defend or refute this particular topic because there are great arguments made on both sides. There is also no proof that completely validates either side’s argument in the matter. In choosing a side to defend in controversial matters, I always lean to the side of what science says and it will be the side that I will defend in this article.
The University of Colorado at Boulder conducted a study that shows people have the ability to suppress emotional memories with practice. The study, which measured brain activity in test subjects who were trained to suppress memories of negative images, indicated two mechanisms in the prefrontal region of the brain were at work. They found that the two regions in the prefrontal cortex appear to work in tandem to suppress particular posterior brain regions like the visual cortex, the hippocampus, and the amygdala which are involved in tasks like visual recall, memory encoding and retrieval, and emotional output. This research is enough to show that memory suppression does happen in people. The brain is so...