Wize University Psychology Textbook > Memory
Brain Regions & Mechanisms Involved in Memory
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Brain Regions & Mechanisms Involved in Memory
Hippocampus - formation of new explicit/declarative memories
Damage to the hippocampus impairs our ability to form new explicit/declarative memories, but not new implicit/nondeclarative memories.
The hippocampus is not where memories are stored - once memories are consolidated, the hippocampus does not play much of a role, if any, in retrieval.
Amygdala - emotional learning and the emotional aspects of memories
Cerebellum - important for implicit memory formation
Changes in Synaptic Connections
Long-term potentiation - often summarized as "neurons that fire together wire together". When a pair of neurons (presynaptic and postsynaptic) are repeatedly stimulated, it becomes easier for the presynaptic neuron to trigger the postsynaptic neuron to fire.
Synaptic consolidation - when memories are brand new (weeks to months), synaptic connections are just starting to form. As the memory ages, these connections get stronger.
Systemic consolidation - over time (months to years) memories become distributed throughout the brain, and the hippocampus is no longer needed to retrieve them. There is no one place in the brain where memories are stored.
Practice: Brain Regions and Memory
A patient whose hippocampus is removed will likely struggle to: