Why do we go "blank" on certain occasions?

It has ever happened to all of us that, for some reason, we realize that over the course of a few seconds or minutes we are unable to think of anything concrete or to remember those elements that we are looking for in the archive of our memory, no matter how basic.

For example, when speaking in public it may happen that if we are even able to remember what was the basic message that we want to communicate, let alone the lines of the script that we had prepared. It can also occur in more conventional contexts. For example, when in a meeting of friends we are left without having a clue of what to say, although what was being talked about was a topic to comment on is relatively easy.

This phenomenon is known as going blank, and it has an explanation it has to do with the way in which memory is related to certain psychological states.

The explanation for the phenomenon of going blank

The first thing to keep in mind to understand why we sometimes get blank is that all our mental activity, even in its most insignificant aspects, has to do with our regards.

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 kinds of experiences. A brain totally devoid of memory is inconceivableBecause 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 keep 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 effort.

The fact of going blank is a sign that our memory is suffering a small crisis in its basic functioning. For some reason, a good part of our memories have been temporarily out of reach, and that causes thought to run into dead ends for a while.

The role of stress in the retrieval of memories

Sometimes the appearance of moments when we go blank may be due to defects in the parts of the brain that are involved in retrieving memories. For example, one of the main symptoms of dementias it is the deficient recovery of memories.

However, this same phenomenon (with less intensity and frequency) is also normal in perfectly healthy brains. In these situations, the stress it has a very important role. When we go through moments of anxietyMany of the mental processes that govern the functioning of the brain change completely.

Anxiety may seem like a small thing if we interpret it solely as an annoying sensation, but it is actually accompanied by a neurochemical chain reaction It affects the entire nervous system and the release of hormones that target different organs of our body. And, of course, anxiety also influences memory.

Specifically, when we feel stressed in parts of our body known as the adrenal glands (because they are located on the kidneys) begin to secrete a variety of hormones known as glucocorticoids. These chemical substances are not only responsible for us being unable to remember what happened to us at times when we were experiencing very high acute stress (such as a motorcycle accident); what's more, significantly decrease 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 begin to feel stress, such as before an exam, our nervous system goes into a state of alert that associates with dangerous situations. This means that our body becomes an alarm that reacts to danger signs that in other contexts would have been ignored as being unimportant, that is, the activation of the brain is oriented towards the reception of external stimuli.

This allows you to start moving quickly to avoid damage, but for this you pay the price of not spending too many resources to reason or think in a minimally creative way, which is necessary to articulate sentences moderately elaborated.

In these situations, glucocorticoids interfere completely with the functioning of the hippocampus, a part of the brain known for being the directory of memories that can be expressed verbally (the declarative memory). As long as the levels of this hormone are high, the hippocampus will have more difficulties than normal when accessing memories and associations between concepts learned through experience.

What's more, the effects of glucocorticoids don't wear off just as the acute stress wears off. Its levels persist for a long time, and if we experience chronic stress, its levels almost will never go all the way down, which means we will experience these blackouts more frequency. This is why the moments in which we go blank do not happen only when we feel very nervous; they may be part of the aftermath of having continued anxiety.