Sexual assault, memory, details and the brain
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The details in Christine Blasey Ford's allegations line both sides of the chasm between Judge Brett Kavanaugh's supporters and the opponents of his quest for a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court. Kavanaugh's critics and Ford's supporters point to the crisp and excruciating detail in her recounting of the alleged assault as evidence of her credibility.
The judge's supporters and Ford skeptics point to key details that are missing — the location of the home where the incident occurred; how she got to the home; even the year.
NPR's Rachel Martin spoke with Jim Hopper, a teaching associate at Harvard Medical School, about how the brain processes traumatic details into memory, and factors that can make it difficult to recall some details.
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