The Neuroscience of Recalling Old Memories
The Neuroscience of Recalling Old Memories
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Highlights
- The researchers showed that associations formed between the different aspects of an event allow one aspect to bring back a wave of memory that includes the other aspects. This process is known as “pattern completion.”
- Our brain is able to recall old memories by piecing together all of the various elements to create a vivid memory of the past. The hippocampus connects various neocortical regions, and brings them together into a holistic and cohesive ‘event engram’ or neural network that represents a specific life event of memory from your past.
- Neuroscientists have discovered that when someone recalls an old memory, a representation of the entire event is instantaneously reactivated in the brain that often includes the people, location, smells, music, and other trivia.