Neurophysiology Involved in Neuroplasticity: Mechanisms of Forgetting

*Jose Rodrigo Carrillo-Marquez and Jose Damian Carrillo-Ruiz*

*"You appear to be astonished," he said, smiling at my expression of surprise. "Now that I do know it, I shall do my best to forget it."*

*"To forget it!"*

*"You see," he explained, "I consider that a man's brain originally is like a little empty attic, and you must stock it with such furniture as you choose. Now the skillful worker is incredibly careful indeed as to what he takes into his brain-attic. He will have nothing but the tools which may help him in doing his work, but of these, he has a large assortment and all in the most perfect order. It is a mistake to think that little room has elastic walls and can distend to any extent. Depending upon it there comes a time when for every addition of knowledge, you forget something that you knew before. It is of the highest importance, therefore, not to have useless facts elbowing out the useful ones."*

*The Science of Deduction in A Study in Scarlet.*

*Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 1887.*
