What is the term for the creation of false memories or the distortion of real memories?

The term that refers to the creation of false memories or the distortion of real memories is confabulation. Confabulation occurs when individuals unintentionally generate fabricated, distorted, or misinterpreted memories about themselves or the world around them. This is often not due to intentional deceit but rather arises from a dysfunction in memory processing, leading the individual to fill in gaps in their memory with erroneous information.

This phenomenon can be related to various cognitive processes, including how memories are recorded and retrieved in the brain, as well as the influence of suggestive information or the individual's own interpretations of events. Confabulation is typically observed in various conditions, including certain neurological disorders, where there is a significant impact on memory function.

In contrast, amnesia pertains to the loss of memory, memory processing describes the overall mechanisms of how memories are formed, stored, and retrieved, and flashbulb memory specifically refers to vivid, detailed memories of emotionally significant events. Each of these concepts addresses different aspects of memory, but only confabulation directly focuses on the distortion or creation of false memories.