PUBLISHED 3:54 PM ET Aug. 02, 2021Have you ever traveled down the highway and suddenly realize you don't really remember any of the past couple of miles?
Three parts of the brain that work together can shift focus when you're stressed, causing false memoriesA vehicle basically becomes a greenhouse on a sunny day. if you’ve spent any time inside a greenhouse when the sun is beating down, you know how stifling the heat gets–and that’s even with the benefit of large fans blowing the air around.The inside of a car turns unbearably hot quickly, and it’s not just on sweltering days. Those just give it a head start.
Cracking the windows makes no difference. In less than an hour, the inside temperature was the same, as if the windows remained closed. Diamond, a neuroscientist at the University of South Florida, has studied the brain and memory for 40 years, often serving as an expert witness in trials where police have charged parents for the murder of their children – many guilty, he says, of simply forgetting.Diamond says it all boils down to three structures in the brain that compete for dominance: the basal ganglia, prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus.
But often the stresses of life and lack of sleep can force your hippocampus to focus on the issues causing the most anxiety.