![]() Within the field of cognitive neuroscience there are many views regarding the locations in the brain where semantic memories are stored. These facts about the world, ideas, meanings and concepts are mixed with our experiences from episodic memory and are emphasized by cultural differences. Semantic memory represents a second of the three main types of explicit memory and refers to general world knowledge we possess and have collected throughout our lives. This indicates sensory input is extremely important for episodic memories which we use to try to recreate the experience of what had occurred. When recalling the images participants had viewed with the accompanying smell, areas of the primary olfactory cortex (the prirform cortex) were more active compared to no scent pairing conditions (Gottfried, Smith, Rugg & Doland, 2004), suggesting memories are retrieved by reactivating the sensors areas that were active while experiencing the original event. Gottfried and colleagues (2004) used fMRI scanners to observe brain activity when participants were trying to remember images they had first viewed in the presence of a specific scent. Episodic memories have been demonstrated to rely heavily on neural structures that were activated during a procedure when the event was being experienced. These types of memories are sequences of experiences and past memories that allows the individual to figuratively travel back in time to relive or recall the event that took place at a particular time and place. Within the category of explicit memories, e pisodic memories represent times, places, associated emotions and other contextual information that make up autobiographical events. The limbic system represents a set of brain structures located on both sides of the thalamus, immediately beneath the cerebral cortex, and is important for a variety of functions including emotion, motivation, long-term memory, and olfaction. Memories we have conscious storage and access to are known as explicit memory (also known as declarative memory) and are encoded by the hippocampus, the entorhinal cortex, and the perihinal cortex which are important structures in the limbic system. Long term memory represents the final stage in the information-processing model where informative knowledge is stored permanently (the idea of memory permanences will be discussed in a later section). The prefrontal cortex appears to be involved in remembering semantic tasks. The cerebellum plays a role in processing procedural memories, such as how to play the piano. The hippocampus is associated with declarative and episodic memory as well as recognition memory. The main parts of the brain involved with memory are the amygdala, the hippocampus, the cerebellum, and the prefrontal cortex.įigure 8.07. The amygdala is involved in fear and fear memories. They have argued that memory is located in specific parts of the brain, and specific neurons can be recognized for their involvement in forming memories. However, since Lashley’s research, other scientists have been able to look more closely at the brain and memory. Many scientists believe that the entire brain is involved with memory. Although Lashley’s early work did not confirm the existence of the engram, modern psychologists are making progress locating it. Based on his creation of lesions and the animals’ reaction, he formulated the equipotentiality hypothesis: if part of one area of the brain involved in memory is damaged, another part of the same area can take over that memory function (Lashley, 1950). Lashley did not find evidence of the engram, and the rats were still able to find their way through the maze, regardless of the size or location of the lesion. ![]() He did this because he was trying to erase the engram, or the original memory trace that the rats had of the maze. Then, he used the tools available at the time-in this case a soldering iron-to create lesions in the rats’ brains, specifically in the cerebral cortex. First, Lashley (1950) trained rats to find their way through a maze. He was searching for evidence of the engram: the group of neurons that serve as the “physical representation of memory” (Josselyn, 2010). Recognize the roles of the hippocampus, amygdala, and cerebellumĪre memories stored in just one part of the brain, or are they stored in many different parts of the brain? Karl Lashley began exploring this problem, about 100 years ago, by making lesions in the brains of animals such as rats and monkeys.Explain the brain functions involved in memory.By the end of this section, you will be able to:
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