Confabulation
Ryan Keane
Why Confabulation?
I chose to research confabulation because it is an interesting subject that everyone can relate to. I am interested in this topic because there has been several times I have done it and didn't realize it until after. I think it is going to be interesting to research why this happens. This research is going to help me because i will have knowlodge about it and will be able to explain why this happened when it actually happens in the world. This research will help other people because a lot of people don't know what confabulation is and i am giving them knowledge of the subject.
What is Confabulation?
In psychology, Confabulation is a memory disturbance, defined as distorted or misinterpreted memories about yourself, what you have seen, or anything. It happens when a person with a brain injury makes up false memories. These memories could be about past events that never happened. Or they could be memories of actual events that the person puts in the wrong time or place. It is distinguished from lying as there is not an intention to give false information and the person doesn't know the information isn't right. This often occurs in people who have damage to the basal forebrain and the frontal lobes.
Relation To The Brain
Confabulation is completely unintentional. It most likely occurs due to frontal lobe damage which can be from tumors, head injuries, or ruptured arteries. Also, basal forebrain damage may lead to memory loss, while frontal damage may lead to problems in self awareness. There are other theories of confabulation. Some people just think it is delusion.
Research and Psychologist
Although there has been significant gains of the awareness of confabulation, there is still a lot to be learned. Psychologist like Frederic Bartlett and Elizabeth Loftus are researching to come up with another theory for the causes of confabulation.
Other interesting stuff
Confabulation occurs a lot of the time in court cases. A witness will know a little of the story but try to fill in the gaps with things that they think happened but really didn't. This is one of the cases where confabulation occurs without any kind of brain damage. Also, confabulation occurs is diseases or disorders such as alzheimer's and schizophrenia.