The Whole-Brain Child

feeling, a smell, an image—and links that experience with similar
experiences from the past. These past experiences strongly
inɻuence how we understand what we see or feel. That inɻuence
occurs because of associations in the brain, where diʃerent neurons
(or brain cells) become linked to each other. So, in essence,
memory is the way an event from the past inɻuences us in the
present.
Imagine, for example, that you found an old paciɹer between
your couch cushions. What kind of emotions and memories would
you experience? If you still have a baby in the house, maybe
nothing too earth-shattering. But if it’s been a few years since your
little one used a paciɹer, then you might be ɻooded with
sentimental associations. You might remember how giant it looked
in your newborn’s mouth, or how quickly you moved the ɹrst time
your toddler shared the binky with the dog. Or you might relive
that wretched night when you all said goodbye to paciɹers for
good. In the moment that you ɹnd the paciɹer, all kinds of
associations rush back into your awareness, impacting your present
feelings and mood based on strong associations from the past. This
is what memory essentially is—association.
Without getting too complicated, here’s what goes on in the
brain. Anytime we undergo an experience, neurons “ɹre,” or
become activated with electrical signals. When these brain cells
ɹre, they become linked with or join other neurons. These linkages
create associations. As we explained in the introduction, this means
that every experience literally changes the physical makeup of the
brain, since neurons are constantly being connected (and
separated) based on our experiences. Neuroscientists explain this
process with the phrase “Neurons that ɹre together wire together.”
In other words, every new experience causes certain neurons to
ɹre, and when they do, they wire together, or link up, with other
neurons that are firing at the same time.