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Unlock This CourseYour brain isn't just one big blob of tissue doing everything at once. Different parts have specific jobs, like how different rooms in your house serve different purposes. This is called localisation of function - the idea that particular areas of the brain are responsible for particular tasks, especially when it comes to memory.
Think of your brain like a massive filing cabinet. Different types of memories are stored in different drawers and different parts of your brain act like the filing clerks who put memories in the right place and help you find them later.
Key Definitions:
Memory isn't stored in just one place. Instead, your brain uses a network of connected regions that work together like a team. The hippocampus acts like the team captain, coordinating with other brain areas to form, store and retrieve memories.
Several brain regions work together to create our memory system. Each has a specific role, like different players on a football team.
The hippocampus is probably the most famous brain structure when it comes to memory. Located deep inside your temporal lobe, it's shaped like a seahorse (that's what "hippocampus" means in Greek). This small but mighty structure is essential for forming new memories and connecting them to existing knowledge.
The hippocampus helps turn experiences into memories by encoding information from your senses and thoughts.
It strengthens memories over time, moving them from temporary storage to more permanent locations.
The hippocampus helps you find and access stored memories when you need them.
In 1953, a 27-year-old man known as H.M. had surgery to treat severe epilepsy. Surgeons removed large portions of his hippocampus and surrounding areas. The surgery stopped his seizures, but it also left him unable to form new memories. H.M. could remember things from before his surgery, but couldn't create new long-term memories. This case proved that the hippocampus is crucial for forming new memories, revolutionising our understanding of how memory works in the brain.
While the hippocampus is like the librarian organising your memories, the cerebral cortex is like the library shelves where memories are actually stored. Different types of memories are stored in different areas of the cortex.
Your brain is remarkably organised when it comes to storing different types of information. Visual memories are stored in visual areas, sounds in auditory areas and so on.
Located at the back of your brain, this area stores visual memories - what things look like, colours, shapes and movements you've seen.
Found in your temporal lobe, this region stores sound memories - voices, music and other sounds you've heard.
Your brain doesn't treat all memories the same way. Different types of memories are processed and stored by different brain systems.
Psychologists divide memory into two main types based on whether you're consciously aware of them or not.
These are memories you can consciously recall, like what you had for breakfast or your friend's birthday. The hippocampus and temporal lobe are crucial for these memories.
These are memories you use without thinking, like how to ride a bike or tie your shoes. These involve different brain areas, including the cerebellum and basal ganglia.
Not all memory is about storing information for the long term. Working memory is like your brain's scratchpad - it holds information temporarily while you're using it.
The prefrontal cortex, located right behind your forehead, is crucial for working memory. It's like having a mental whiteboard where you can temporarily hold and manipulate information.
Handles speech and sound information, like remembering a phone number you just heard.
Processes visual and spatial information, like remembering where you parked your bike.
Controls and coordinates the other systems, deciding what to pay attention to.
In 1848, railway worker Phineas Gage survived a horrific accident where an iron rod shot through his skull, damaging his prefrontal cortex. While he could still form memories, his personality changed dramatically and he had trouble with planning and decision-making. This case helped scientists understand that the prefrontal cortex is crucial for executive functions that work alongside memory.
When different parts of the brain are damaged, they affect memory in different ways. This has taught us a lot about how memory is localised in the brain.
Brain damage can cause different patterns of memory problems, depending on which areas are affected.
Difficulty forming new memories after brain damage. Often caused by hippocampal damage, like in patient H.M.
Loss of memories from before the brain damage occurred. Usually affects recent memories more than older ones.
Today's technology lets us watch the living brain in action, confirming and expanding what we learned from studying brain damage.
Brain scans like fMRI show us which brain areas are active when people are forming, storing, or retrieving memories. This has confirmed that memory really is localised in specific brain regions.
Brain scans show the hippocampus lighting up when people are learning new information, proving its role in memory formation.
When people recall memories, different cortical areas become active depending on what type of memory they're retrieving.
Understanding brain localisation helps doctors treat memory problems. For example, knowing that the hippocampus is crucial for new memories helps explain why people with Alzheimer's disease (which often starts by damaging the hippocampus) have trouble forming new memories but can still remember things from long ago.