ELI5:What is that physical feeling we get when we forget something, or think we’re forgetting something?

r/

Always wondered what the physically feeling is when your brain is telling you or making you think you’re forgetting something?

Comments

  1. Soup-a-doopah Avatar

    It’s a form of anxiety, no? The “something’s wrong, I can feel it” sensation.

  2. morbidi Avatar

    Maybe :

    Cognitive dissonance or anticipatory anxiety
    • If it’s more general (like walking out the door and feeling like you forgot something), it might fall under anticipatory anxiety — your brain’s way of warning you about potential mistakes based on past patterns.

    There’s no single official name for the exact physical sensation, but those terms describe the mental processes that trigger it.

    Want to know what part of the brain is involved in this feeling?

    —— thanks ChatGPT

  3. Mdly68 Avatar

    I’m fascinated by how memory works in a meat brain. How do we encode words, images, and sounds into chemical bonds that we can retrieve and interpret later? Is there an equivalent of an index that tells the brain where each memory is stored, or is it more like running through your fingers through grains of sand until something feels right? There’s definitely some kind of “search mechanism” where you need to give your brain a minute to find or remember something.

  4. scsiballs Avatar

    It’s the I’m on the way to the airport / train / bus station and I don’t have time to go back feeling

  5. Itchy_Candle101 Avatar

    It’s the awake version of feeling like you’re falling when asleep.