Which area of the brain is associated with memory

For example, one researcher experimented with rats and the fear response Josselyn, Using Pavlovian conditioning, a neutral tone was paired with a foot shock to the rats. This produced a fear memory in the rats. After being conditioned, each time they heard the tone, they would freeze a defense response in rats , indicating a memory for the impending shock. Then the researchers induced cell death in neurons in the lateral amygdala, which is the specific area of the brain responsible for fear memories.

They found the fear memory faded became extinct. Because of its role in processing emotional information, the amygdala is also involved in memory consolidation: the process of transferring new learning into long-term memory.

The amygdala seems to facilitate encoding memories at a deeper level when the event is emotionally arousing. A Laser Beam. Find out why their work caused a media frenzy once it was published in Science. Another group of researchers also experimented with rats to learn how the hippocampus functions in memory processing [link]. They created lesions in the hippocampi of the rats, and found that the rats demonstrated memory impairment on various tasks, such as object recognition and maze running.

Another job of the hippocampus is to project information to cortical regions that give memories meaning and connect them with other connected memories. It also plays a part in memory consolidation: the process of transferring new learning into long-term memory.

Injury to this area leaves us unable to process new declarative memories. One famous patient, known for years only as H. As a result, his declarative memory was significantly affected, and he could not form new semantic knowledge. He lost the ability to form new memories, yet he could still remember information and events that had occurred prior to the surgery.

For a closer look at how memory works, as well as how researchers are now studying H. Although the hippocampus seems to be more of a processing area for explicit memories, you could still lose it and be able to create implicit memories procedural memory, motor learning, and classical conditioning , thanks to your cerebellum [link].

For example, one classical conditioning experiment is to accustom subjects to blink when they are given a puff of air. Other researchers have used brain scans, including positron emission tomography PET scans, to learn how people process and retain information. From these studies, it seems the prefrontal cortex is involved.

In one study, participants had to complete two different tasks: either looking for the letter a in words considered a perceptual task or categorizing a noun as either living or non-living considered a semantic task Kapur et al.

Participants were then asked which words they had previously seen. Recall was much better for the semantic task than for the perceptual task. According to PET scans, there was much more activation in the left inferior prefrontal cortex in the semantic task. In another study, encoding was associated with left frontal activity, while retrieval of information was associated with the right frontal region Craik et al.

Together these structures represent the main areas of the brain associated with the formation of long term memories. Clark, Zola and Squire experimented with rats to learn how the hippocampus functions in memory processing.

They created lesions in the hippocampi of the rats, and found that the rats demonstrated memory impairment on various tasks, such as object recognition and maze running. They concluded that the hippocampus is involved in creating memories, specifically normal recognition memory as well as spatial memory when the memory tasks are like recall tests. The hippocampus also projects information to cortical regions that give memories meaning and connect them to other bits of information.

In addition, it also plays a main role in memory consolidation: the process of transferring new learning into long-term memory. Injury to this area interferes with the ability to form new memories but does not significantly impair their ability to retrieve memories already stored as long term memories Hudspeth et al.

One famous patient, known for years only as H. As a result, his declarative explicit memory was significantly affected, and he could not form new semantic knowledge.

He lost the ability to form new memories, yet he could still remember information and events that had occurred prior to the surgery. His story provides strong evidence in humans that the hippocampus is mainly related to memory consolidation. The cerebellum plays a large role in implicit memories procedural memory, motor learning, and classical conditioning.

For example, an individual with damage to their hippocampus will still demonstrate a conditioning response to blink when they are given a series of puffs of air to their eyes. This experiment demonstrates the important role the cerebellum plays in the formation of implicit memories and conditioned responses. Recent estimates of counts of neurons in various brain regions suggests there are about 21 to 26 billion neurons in the human cerebral cortex Pelvig et al.

The cerebellum is composed of a variety of different regions that receive projections from different parts of the brain and spinal cord, and project mainly to motor related brain systems in the frontal and parietal lobes. In addition to contributions to implicit memory, conditioned responses, fine motor movements, posture and coordination, the cerebellum also maintains internal representations of the external world, which allow you to navigate through your living room to find your keys in complete darkness, and professional baseball players to coordinate their movement so they can catch outfield fly balls.

Other researchers have used brain imaging measuring metabolic processes, including positron emission tomography PET scans, to learn how people process and retain information. From these studies, the prefrontal cortex appears to be active during a variety of memory related tasks. In one study, participants had to complete two different tasks: either looking for the letter a in words considered a perceptual task or categorizing a noun as either living or non-living considered a semantic task Kapur et al.

Participants were then asked which words they had previously seen, and reported much better recall for the semantic task compared to the perceptual task. According to PET scans, there was much more activation in the left inferior prefrontal cortex in the semantic task.

In another study, encoding was associated with left frontal activity, while retrieval of information was associated with the right frontal region Craik et al. Another widely held view of prefrontal cortex function is that it encodes task relevant information in working memory Baddeley, Many studies have shown greater amounts of prefrontal cortex activity during delay periods in working memory tasks demonstrating prefrontal rehearsal processes leading to the transition of information from short term working memory to long term memory Wilson et al.

There also appear to be specific neurotransmitters involved with the process of memory, such as epinephrine, dopamine, serotonin, glutamate, and acetylcholine Myhrer, There continues to be discussion and debate among researchers as to the specific roles each neurotransmitter plays Blockland, Although there is much debate defining conclusive causal relationships between specific neurotransmitters and specific behaviors by way of experimental design, researchers are able to use two general methods to make inferences about these relationships.

The second method is known as a correlational method, where different naturally occurring conditions neurological diseases, aging that affect different neurotransmitter systems are compared in humans or animal models. Using these methods, several neurotransmitter groups and pathways have been consistently found to be important for a variety of memory processes Chapoutier, ; Decker and McGaugh, Repeated activity by neurons leads to greater releases of neurotransmitters in the synapses and stronger neural connections between neuron groups creating memory consolidation.

It is also believed that strong emotions trigger the formation of strong memories, and weaker emotional experiences form weaker memories; this is called arousal theory Christianson, For example, strong emotional experiences can trigger the release of neurotransmitters, as well as hormones, which strengthen memory; therefore, our memory for an emotional event is usually better than our memory for a non-emotional event.

When humans and animals are stressed, the brain secretes more of the neurotransmitter glutamate , which helps to remember the stressful event Szapiro et al, This provides the functional basis of a phenomenon commonly referred to as flashbulb memory.

Early research into functional properties of glutamate used a compound known as proline to study responses in the avian bird retina. Cherkin, Eckardt and Gerbrandt , found the administration of proline would reduce learning and memory in birds, suggesting that because proline acts as a glutamate antagonist reducing the release of glutamate in the synapse , glutamate must be involved in some process related to learning and memory.

Further studies used other glutamate antagonists to demonstrate that overall, reducing the amount of glutamate in the synapse reduces the ability to learn and form memories. In response to this early research, further studies have summarized a critical process related to learning and memory known as long term potentiation. This process relies on the stimulation of glutamate pathways in the brain Malenka and Nicoll, Additionally, human conditions related to major disruption of learning and memory have consistently tended to be related to significant absences of glutamate neurotransmitters and receptors.

Until the discovery of benzodiazepines, GABA had been relatively ignored in terms of its affects on learning and memory processes. McGaugh used local administration of GABA producing compounds agonists or inhibiting compounds antagonists demonstrating they could selectively produce learning and memory impairments or enhancements depending on whether they used the GABA agonist learning and memory impairments or GABA antagonists learning and memory enhancements.

Specifically, a reduction of GABA in the synapse or great inhibition of the release of GABA can increase rates of firing between cells leading to greater long term potentiation and thus learning and memory consolidation. After the information is transferred from short-term memory to long-term memory in the hippocampus, it moves into the neocortex to be stored permanently. Research suggests that this process takes place while we sleep.

The neocortex is also involved in the processes of spatial reasoning, language, generation of motor skills, and sensory perception. Implicit memories are memories that we tap into without being consciously aware of the past experience we are drawing them from.

It all happens unconsciously. There are two areas of the brain working to maintain our implicit memories: the basal ganglia and the cerebellum. The basal ganglia are structures that live deep within the brain. Particularly, they help us with coordinating sequences of motor activity. We use these sequences during activities such as dancing, playing an instrument, and playing soccer.

These structures are also involved in processes such as habit formation which makes sense when you think about how muscle memory seems like a habit , movement, learning, emotion, and processing rewards.

The cerebellum is located at the base of the brain, all the way in the back. As opposed to general motor control, the cerebellum focuses on fine motor control — the type that helps us with detailed activity, such as learning how to hold a bow just a slight degree higher to hit the target. What part of the brain controls memory? All of the parts! Do you have any cool tricks for explaining how memory works?

Please share with us in the comment section below; the more perspectives, the better! Search Search. Written by Natasha Wanderly.