Sensory memories

They say the subconscious is a powerful thing. It can store memories and data like no other super computer in the world. Sometimes these memories and data are set loose in our dreams, sometimes through completely unplanned thoughts and words, and sometimes they are triggered through our senses.

Certain colors, patterns, or locations may trigger powerful emotions of childhood experiences both good and bad.  Sometimes sounds can trigger and spark flashes of memory much like PTSD patients suffer when returning home from war. It could be scent or a taste, or just the air around us.

Sensory memories can be triggered by nearly anything, and nothing at all. They can be powerful and almost transforming, or they can be subtle and quiet. They can make us smile or cry, bring us comfort or terror.  But they are always part of us, always with us, somewhere in the back of our minds waiting for the opportune moment to peek through.

Sensory Memory preserves incoming sensory information (in its original sensory form) for only a fraction of a second, just long enough for the brain to decide where to store the data. Does it get stored for future reference or does it get erased to make room for something else? BTW a visual memory trace is called an icon while an auditory memory trace is called an echo...ya ya...I know TMI. Anyway, sensory memory extends the duration of the perception of stimuli long enough that they can be recognized, transformed (encoded), and relayed to conscious or subconscious awareness. If there’s a certain smell or sound that instantly brings back memories, it is because those memories are stored—at least in part—in brain regions associated with the input of your senses. Scientists studies with rats found neural connections between the senses and intense memories. Each sense, including sound, smell and vision, has a primary and a secondary sensory cortex area in the brain. The primary cortex sends sensory information to the secondary cortex, which then connects to emotional and memory stations.

I bring this up because I have found lately, that I am experiences an influx of sensory memories which are unexpected, though for the most part, pleasant.

The smell of a certain cologne reminds me of my daddy.  It may not be his exact cologne but it has notes and undertones of certain elements which bring him to life. A really cold breeze with the wind blowing just the right way reminds of living in the antelope valley.  Tin foil  rustling reminds me of my mother covering our windows in the winter as she attempted to create an extra barrier against the cold.  The smell of cooking ground beef with salt and pepper reminds me of taco night as a kid. Every now and then little things, subtleties open the window into the past and then fade back to reality.  Its uncomfortable but comforting both at the same time. Vicks vapor rub has a strong emotional memory for me, as does the smell of whiskey which is not so comforting. I hated the hot totties when I was sick. Fresh paint is an easy one for me as it simply reminds me of my grandfather Feezell. And warm biscuits in the oven bring on visions of my grandmother Feezell in the early morning hours.  Fresh laundry and the smell of a warm iron trigger memories of grandma Ailene and chicken feathers and false teeth trigger grandpa Charlie. Monkey bars and swing-sets, the smell of cooking catfish, the texture of raw chicken or liver, the sound of certain song, the bite of the winter cold, a child playing on a pogo stick, gladiolas, they all have meaning.  Certain foods I can't eat because they trigger uncomfortable and unwanted memories like okra, liver, cream of wheat/malt-o-meal & oatmeal. Cottage cheese makes me gag because that's what my tonsils looked like when they removed them at age 6.

Sensory memories stored and cataloged waiting for access and a chance to be used. They are all around us, each one linked to something important or valuable to us in some way. Each has an emotional connection to who we are and how we see the world and each nanosecond of every day we are storing more. Dejavu is nothing more than a sensory connection peaking through. What might be unsettling to some is comforting to others. I cherish my triggers and those memories which reside in the recesses of my mind waiting to make their grand appearance. Thousands upon thousands, which I have not yet seen. I welcome them and I think they keep me grounded.  I imagine what they will be like 40 years from now and I am excited at the stories I will tell my grandchildren and my great grandchildren,.