Thinking with the whole body

Flashbulb memories

All of us have had experiential memories that are extremely vivid and powerful in our minds. For example: I remember the exact moment in 1984 when it was announced that Indira Gandhi had been assassinated. I was studying in the 8th standard, playing hockey on a dusty field, when a group of friends came running up to us and announced the momentous news and the dismissal of school for the rest of the day. I still remember the gaggle of students standing around in the swirling dust, chattering excitedly wondering if the Pakistanis would send bomber squadrons to drop bombs on all the major Indian cities during that chaotic time. Although the event occurred 26 years ago, i am still able to recollect the scenario with comparative ease. This is because of the intense emotion associated with the event. These kind of memories are called flashbulb memories and are associated with an area of the brain called the amygdala.
Associating an intense experience with an event is one of the methods of ensuring its permanence in the memory circuits. Try out some of the books on these subjects.