Memory Consolidation Essay

When we recall these memories, we re-consolidate them by reactivating the neutrons that compose our memory, which allows us to create new connections. This encourages learning by strengthening these connections and allowing them.

Memory is divided into three categories. These categories consist of: sensory memory, short term memory and long term memory, out of these short term memory is the main focus in this essay. It has been widely researched due to interest of how much memory can be stored, how long this memory can be stored for and what information is memorised.

“Information flows from the outside world through our sight, hearing smelling, tasting and touch sensors. Memory is simply ways we store and recall things we 've sensed.” When we recall memories, the original neuron path that we used to sense the experience that we are recalling is refined, and the connection is made stronger. Sensory information in stored for only a few seconds in the cortex of the brain. This information can then progress to short-term memory, and then long-term memory, depending on the importance of the information received.

Memory refers to the persistence of learning in a state that can be revealed at a later time (Squire, 1987). A memory is a network of neocortical neurons and the connections that link them. That network is formed by experience as a result of the concurrent activation of neuronal ensembles that

Stanislaw Jerzy Lec once said “You can close your eyes to reality but not to memories.” Stanislaw Jerzy Lec’s quote relates to the theme of the importance of memory by saying that reality can fade away however memory will always stay in your heart no matter what. Scrooge knows this however doesn’t see it until the Ghost of Christmas Past shows him his past memories of Christmas. For example, the Ghost of Christmas Past shows his first Christmas all alone in his old school’s room as a child. As well as when Scrooge is shown his past Christmas with his family for the first time since his father had changed. Lastly when he enjoys his Christmas with his friends from his work with their annual Christmas party and has a wonderful time. “The Christmas Carol” displays the importance of memory.

Research has shown that there is “greater activation in the left inferior frontal and medial temporal lobes” (Stanford, 2006, p. 208) during the encoding of words which were later remembered as compared to those which were forgotten. The sensations perceived by sensory nerves are decoded in the hippocampus of the brain into a single experience (Mastin, 2010). The hippocampus analyses new information and compares and asssociates it with previously stored memory (Mastin, 2010). Human memory is associative in that new information can be remembered better if it can be associated to previously acquired, firmly consolidated information (Mastin, 2010). The various pieces of information are then stored in different parts of the brain (Mastin, 2010). Though the exact method by which this information is later identified and recalled has yet to be discovered, it is understood that ultra-short term sensory memory is converted into short term memory which can then later be consolidated into long term memory (Mastin, 2010).

It consists in two specific processes, the synaptic consolidation (which occurs within the few hours of learning) and system consolidation (where hippocampus dependent memories become independent of the hippocampus over a period of weeks to years) ("Memory Storage." Blog post. Memory Storage - Memory Processes - The Human Memory. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 May 2017). Neurons create signals which are designated to react and become permanently sensitized to each other. The more this happens the more connections and path ways are made to replay this memory. Short term memories are stored in the pre-frontal lobe which is located in the front of the brain. Short term memories can eventually be developed into long term memories when reached the hippocampus, which is a deeper part in the brain. The hippocampus “takes simultaneous memories from a different sensory region of the brain and connects them into a single ‘episode’ of memory, for example, you may have one memory of a dinner party rather than multiple separate memories of how the party looked, sounded, and smelled.” (Ashford, Molika. "How Are Memories Stores in the Brain?" Live Science. N.p., 31 Aug. 2010. Web. 19 May 2017.) After reached the hippocampus, memories and neurons related to the memory become one, which is likely to relate actions to memories. According to Wilder Penfield and Karl Lashley, memories are stored in as bodies of

The human brain is extremely complex, top scientists and surgeons still struggle to comprehend how it works. The way that the brain can process information and help a person to problem solve is amazing, but another part of the brain can hold memories. Some are good--like a memory of a family vacation or of family holidays--but there are also frightening memories that can haunt a person until his or her death, if they don’t get help. For a very long time researchers have focused on combatant PTSD, for very good reason, but now a problem has risen among civilians, and they have not been focused on the growth of PTSD right here in regular everyday people’s lives. Not just soldiers can be affected; civilian men, women, and children can be

Research is increasingly concluding that the brain works as an integrated whole rather than a series of discrete parts. In forming memory the brain passes information along the Papez circuit which involves a number of regions of the brain. Brain research indicates that memory formation produces physical changes to the way neurons are organized and

When we learn something new, we begin to forget rapidly before what we retain levels off. Reasons for why this may be happening is because we never encoded the memory, decaying of stored memory, or because the physical memory trace is gradually fading (Myers & DeWall, 2016, p.303).

Memory in the human brain is a complex process which is easier understood by the use of theoretical constructs. Memories begin as sensory stimuli which become sensory memory which only last about one second, from there it moves into working memory which lasts for about twenty to thirty seconds and is used to process information. Within working memory there are a few separate processes, the central executive which directs attention, the episodic buffer which is a secondary storage lasting ten to twenty seconds, this area communicates with long term memory as well as the central executive. The visuospatial sketchpad which is used to visualise visual and spacial

The retrieval of a memory can initiate processes in our brain that actively consolidate and strengthen the memory trace, a process known as memory reconsolidation. Memories retrieved are thought to increase their stability once they undergo the process of consolidation. Retrieval of a memory trace may cause another liable phase to require more processing to keep the memory stable after retrieval; the brain systemically acquires cellular mechanisms to initiate a new round of protein synthesis that saves the trace from degradation. (Rudy CITE) There has been recent issues concerning the relationship between post-traumatic stress disorder and reconsolidation of fear memories brought about by individuals who experience the disorder.

Synaptic plasticity refers to a process through which the brain undergoes neural changes due to alterations in synaptic strength. Many studies have demonstrated that these synapses have the ability to strengthen or weaken on account of synaptic activity. In other words, an increase in synaptic activity will further strengthen that connection, making it more sensitive to a particular stimulus. Conversely, a decrease in synaptic activity will weaken the connection such that it loses its sensitivity to a given stimulus. The neuronal events that result in the strengthening or weakening of a synapse are explained through two mechanisms – Long-Term Potentiation (LTP) and Long-Term Depression (LTD). In fact, scientists believe that the coupling of these two mechanisms essentially contributes to memory and learning of an individual.

Some scientists believe that parts of long term memory are permanent while others will eventually weaken over time. (3) Long term memory can be divided into three sections: procedural memory, declarative memory, and remote memory. Procedural memory includes motor skills such as learning how to ride a bike or how to drive a car. "Such memories are slow to acquire but more resistant to change or loss." (4) Declarative memory is used to remember facts, such as names, dates and places. It is easy to learn but also easy to lose. Finally there is episodic memory, which is the record of events that a person stores throughout his or her experience. Recent studies show that these events, as soon as they occur, are sent to a temporary part of the brain called the hippocampus, and that over time they are moved to the neocortex for permanent storage. (5).

Learning is a very important aspect of humans and creatures alike. Not only is it essential to the survival and adaption into this world but it also defines who we are as individuals (Schiller et al, 2010; Tronson & Taylor, 2007). Memories from past experiences shape the people that we are today. A crucial element to learning is memory, without it we would not be able to retain information. The process of memory is very distinct and consists of several different stages: acquisition of memory, consolidation, retrieval and then either reconsolidation or extinction (Debiec & Ledoux, 2004; Diergaarde, Schoffelmeer & De Vries, 2008). As memory is such a critical aspect of learning, it is no wonder that its distinct process has become the topic of much research in the neurobiological universe (Hupbach et al, 2007; Nader & Hardt, 2009).