what is the memory consolidation theory

Memory consolidation refers to a slow process that stabilises a memory trace after initial acquisition of novel events. The consolidation theory posits that once a memory is stored in the brain, it remains fixed for the lifetime of the memory.

Full Answer

What is the role of the hippocampus in memory consolidation?

What Is the Hippocampus?

• Functions. Research has also found that different subregions of the hippocampus itself play important roles in certain types of memory.
• Impact of Hippocampus Damage. If the hippocampus is damaged by disease or injury, it can influence a person's memories as well as their ability to form new memories.
• Tips. ...
• Potential Pitfalls. ...
• History of the Hippocampus. ...

What is loss of memory?

Usually, short-term memory loss is temporary and not a concern. Short-term memory loss is common and strikes often. Examples include meeting someone and immediately forgetting their name, misplacing your car keys, or walking into a room and forgetting why you're there.

What is reconsolidation therapy?

The reconsolidation therapy focuses on healing your life by healing your mind first. Each session is designed to reduce the pain caused by traumatic memories.

What is memory consistency?

What is Memory Consistency and How Does it Work? Memory consistency is one of the key elements for multicore systems that share the same memory and that use a hierarchy of caches. Thanks to it, all cores have consistent access to memory and have a common view of the memory they use to run programs.

What does consolidation theory explain?

Consolidation theory describes the transient process, where pore pressure equilibrium is re-established after a change in the stress state. This process involves a flow of the pore fluid through the porous rock.

What is the purpose of memory consolidation?

Through the consolidation process, the brain creates a sort of neural map, allowing memories to be retrieved when they are needed. People often think of memories as permanent, but just because a memory has been consolidated does not mean that it can't be lost.

What is the memory consolidation theory of sleep?

Acquisition and recall occur only during wakefulness, but research suggests that memory consolidation takes place during sleep through the strengthening of the neural connections that form our memories.

What is consolidation theory of forgetting?

The Consolidation Theory of Forgetting The process of memory consolidation takes place when the memory is stabilised to prevent disruptions. The moment a memory is consolidated, it becomes resistant to forgetting.

What is an example of consolidation in psychology?

For example, perhaps back in middle school, you spent hours and hours studying and using the Pythagorean theorem. By doing so, you have exercised your brain a great deal and secured the formula in your long-term memory. This is called memory consolidation.

Where does memory consolidation take place?

Memory consolidation takes place in the hippocampus and neocortex of the brain. Memory consolidation occurs by the potentiation of synaptic pathways.

Does memory consolidation occur during REM sleep?

Researchers identify neurons responsible for memory consolidation during REM sleep. Summary: Researchers have found that activity in adult-born neurons (ABNs) in the hippocampus, which is a brain region associated with memory, are responsible for memory consolidation during REM sleep.

Which of the following is essential for memory consolidation?

Answer and Explanation: The hippocampus is essential for both short-term and long-term memory consolidation.

Which type of memory is consolidated during REM sleep?

Similarly, the duration of stage 2 NREM sleep predicts overnight consolidation of both declarative and motor memories (Walker et al., 2002; Fogel and Smith, 2006; Ruch et al., 2012).

What are the 3 theories of forgetting?

Abstract. There are at least three general categories of theories of memory which suggest reasons why we forget. The theories can be classified as psychological, neurochemical, and physiological.

What part of the brain is responsible for memory consolidation?

When we visit a friend or go to the beach, our brain stores a short-term memory of the experience in a part of the brain called the hippocampus. Those memories are later “consolidated” — that is, transferred to another part of the brain for longer-term storage.

What are the three theories of memory?

These are— An encoding process, a storage process and a retrieval process.

What part of the brain is responsible for memory consolidation?

When we visit a friend or go to the beach, our brain stores a short-term memory of the experience in a part of the brain called the hippocampus. Those memories are later “consolidated” — that is, transferred to another part of the brain for longer-term storage.

Which of the following is essential for memory consolidation?

Answer and Explanation: The hippocampus is essential for both short-term and long-term memory consolidation.

What is the process of consolidating memories quizlet?

Memory consolidation is the process by which memories become stable in the brain. Memory reconsolidation means memories can become vulnerable to disruption when they are recalled, thus requiring them to be consolidated again.

What is it called when you remember everything you see?

Hyperthymesia is the rare ability to recall nearly all past experiences in great detail. The causes of HSAM are currently unknown, but some theories suggest that it may have biological, genetic, or psychological origins.

What is the process of a memory being consolidated?

That is when you have some experiences in the short term memory and the memory isn’t consolidated so it would never convert to long term memory. In other terms, this is a narrowing down process through which short term memory is converted into the long term.

What is the process of final consolidation?

There are two major processes that lead to the final consolidation. These are synaptic consolidation which takes place within immediate hours of learning and encoding while the other is system consolidation where hippocampal memories are independent of hippocampus storage after a certain period of time.

Where are conscious memories stored?

It is vital to state that conscious memories are formed through consolidation which is initially stored in the storehouses namely the hippocampus and neocortex. Then the hippocampus gets out of the sentence and the consolidation is rather restricted to the neocortex after a certain time. Early consolidation examples were studied while studying retrograde amnesia which is known to affect the hippocampus overall. There are certain genetic tools like optogenetic which are used to study consolidation as a whole.

Which part of the brain is responsible for episodic memory retrieval?

This theory is founded on the basis to put forward the discrimination between the two memory types: episodic and semantic memory. It says that the hippocampus is the mandatory part which occupies the brain in terms of memory retrieval for the episodic memory type. Certain links are established between the hippocampus and the neocortex during the process of conversion.

How many stages of memory are there?

There are three basic stages through which memory forms. These are:

How does short term memory turn into long term memory?

In other terms, this is a narrowing down process through which short term memory is converted into the long term. The process involves neurons in the brain undergoing protein synthesis. These proteins glue all the memories together. There are two major processes that lead to the final consolidation.

How does memory form?

There are three basic stages through which memory forms. These are: 1 Encoding: This refers to how sensory inputs are transformed into a kind of input that can be stored as in the form of memory. 2 Storage: This represents how to retain the encoded sensory information you get through your sense organs. 3 Retrieval: This accounts for how you get access to the actual memory stores in your brain.

What is memory consolidation?

Tara Moore / Getty Images. Memory consolidation is the process where our brains convert short-term memories into long-term ones. Short-term memory tends to be quite limited in terms of duration and capacity. The human brain can only store short-term memories for about 30 seconds, so if you are ever going to remember anything, ...

What is the role of sleep in the consolidation process?

Through the consolidation process, the brain creates a sort of neural map, allowing memories to be retrieved when they are needed. Experts suggest that sleep can play an important role in the consolidation process.

Why is it important to recall and reconsolidate memories?

The process of recalling and reconsolidating a memory can help maintain and strengthen information in long-term memory. Researchers have also found that memories need to be reconsolidated every time they are accessed. This process, however, can transform and change the memory itself.

How to speed up consolidation?

It is also possible to speed up the consolidation process when learning new information. Rehearsal and memorization strategies, like studying and mnemonic devices are a few techniques, and one of the best ways to ensure that information is consolidated into long-term memory is to rehearse it over several spaced intervals repeatedly. 3 

How do neural networks become stronger?

By rehearsing or recalling information over and over again, these neural networks become strengthened. For example, if you study the same material regularly over a long period, the pathways involved in remembering that information becomes stronger. The repeated firing of the same neurons makes it more likely that those same neurons will be able to repeat that firing again in the future.

What happens when two neurons fire at the same time?

When two neurons fire at the same time repeatedly, they become more likely to fire together in the future. Eventually, these two neurons will become sensitized to one another.

How long does the brain store short term memories?

The human brain can only store short-term memories for about 30 seconds, so if you are ever going to remember anything, important information has to be moved into long-term memory .

What is memory consolidation?

Memory consolidation is a category of processes that stabilize a memory trace after its initial acquisition. A memory trace is a change in the nervous system caused by memorizing something. Consolidation is distinguished into two specific processes. The first, synaptic consolidation, which is thought to correspond to late-phase long-term potentiation, occurs on a small scale in the synaptic connections and neural circuits within the first few hours after learning. The second process is systems consolidation, occurring on a much larger scale in the brain, rendering hippocampus-dependent memories independent of the hippocampus over a period of weeks to years. Recently, a third process has become the focus of research, reconsolidation, in which previously consolidated memories can be made labile again through reactivation of the memory trace.

Who first proposed the concept of memory consolidation?

Memory consolidation was first referred to in the writings of the renowned Roman teacher of rhetoric Quintillian. He noted the "curious fact... that the interval of a single night will greatly increase the strength of the memory," and presented the possibility that "... the power of recollection .. undergoes a process of ripening and maturing during the time which intervenes." The process of consolidation was later proposed based on clinical data illustrated in 1882 by Ribot's Law of Regression, "progressive destruction advances progressively from the unstable to the stable". This idea was elaborated on by William H. Burnham a few years later in a paper on amnesia integrating findings from experimental psychology and neurology. Coining of the term "consolidation" is credited to the German researchers Müller and Alfons Pilzecker who rediscovered the concept that memory takes time to fixate or undergo "Konsolidierung" in their studies conducted between 1892 and 1900. The two proposed the perseveration-consolidation hypothesis after they found that new information learned could disrupt information previously learnt if not enough time had passed to allow the old information to be consolidated. This led to the suggestion that new memories are fragile in nature but as time passes they become solidified.

What is the difference between episodic memory and semantic memory?

It is thought that semantic memories, including basic information encoded during the storage of episodic memories , can be established in structures apart from the hippocampal system such as the neo-cortex in the process of consolidation. Hence, while proper hippocampal functioning is necessary for the retention and retrieval of episodic memories, it is less necessary during the encoding and use of semantic memories. As memories age there are long-term interactions between the hippocampus and neo-cortex and this leads to the establishment of aspects of memory within structures aside from the hippocampus. MTT thus states that both episodic and semantic memories rely on the hippocampus and the latter becomes somewhat independent of the hippocampus during consolidation. An important distinction between MTT and the standard model is that the standard model proposes that all memories become independent of the hippocampus after several years. However, Nadel and Moscovitch have shown that the hippocampus was involved in memory recall for all remote autobiographical memories no matter of their age. An important point they make while interpreting the results is that activation in the hippocampus was equally as strong regardless of the fact that the memories recalled were as old as 45 years prior to the date of the experiment. This is complicated by the fact that the hippocampus is constantly involved in the encoding of new events and activation due to this fact is hard to separate using baseline measures. Because of this, activation of the hippocampus during retrieval of distant memories may simply be a by-product of the subject encoding the study as an event.

What are semantic and episodic memory?

Nadel and Moscovitch argued that when studying the structures and systems involved in memory consolidation, semantic memory and episodic memory need to be distinguished as relying on two different memory systems. When episodic information is encoded there are semantic aspects of the memory that are encoded as well and this is proposed as an explanation of the varying gradients of memory loss seen in amnesic patients. Amnesic patients with hippocampal damage show traces of memories and this has been used as support for the standard model because it suggests that memories are retained apart from the hippocampal system. Nadel and Moscovitch argue that these retained memories have lost the richness of experience and exist as depersonalized events that have been semanticized over time. They suggest that this instead provides support for their notion that episodic memories rely significantly on the hippocampal system but semantic memories can be established elsewhere in the brain and survive hippocampal damage.

How does synaptic consolidation affect gene expression?

The standard model of synaptic consolidation suggests that alterations of synaptic protein synthesis and changes in membrane potential are achieved through activating intracellular transduction cascades. These molecular cascades trigger transcription factors that lead to changes in gene expression. The result of the gene expression is the lasting alteration of synaptic proteins, as well as synaptic remodeling and growth. In a short time-frame immediately following learning, the molecular cascade, expression and process of both transcription factors and immediate early genes, are susceptible to disruptions. Disruptions caused by specific drugs, antibodies and gross physical trauma can block the effects of synaptic consolidation.

How long does synaptic consolidation last?

Long-term memory, when discussed in the context of synaptic consolidation, is conventionally said to be memory that lasts for at least 24 hours.

How does distributed learning affect memory?

Experimental results suggest that distributing learning over the course of 24 hours decreases the rate of forgetting compared to massed learning, and enhances relational memory consolidation. When interpreted in the context of synaptic consolidation, mechanisms of synaptic strengthening may depend on the spacing of memory reactivation to allow sufficient time for protein synthesis to occur, and thereby strengthen long-term memory.

What is memory consolidation psychology?

Memory consolidation is the process that causes our short-term memories to be stored as long-term memories.

Why do we need to exercise our memory?

It needs to be exercised with repetition to strengthen and become secured within our memory system. For example, perhaps back in middle school, you spent hours and hours studying and using the Pythagorean theorem. By doing so, you have exercised your brain a great deal and secured the formula in your long-term memory.

What is the process of electrical signals passing from a neuron to a neuron?

Source: rawpixel.com. Simply put, electric or chemical signals pass from neuron to neuron over the synapse, sometimes requiring the aid of neurotransmitters. The pattern of neurons and synapses that this information travels through can train the neurons to be reactivated in similar patterns. This pattern reactivation is a memory.

How does memory help us?

Memory is a continually changing, ever-shifting series of neural patterns within the brain that allows us to recall information we have previously learned. In memory consolidation psychology, this is a process that will enable us to gain information and secure it in our long-term memory to be accessed days, weeks, or even years later. As we age, so does our brain. Cognitive decline is typical in aging adults, and it can disrupt memory formation and memory recall. However, there are ways that we can protect and even improve our memory. Through lifestyle habits such as regular exercise, getting enough sleep, and challenging ourselves mentally, we can help keep our minds sharp and our memory healthy.

Why does memory decrease as we age?

Memory consolidation psychology shows that there is a multitude of possible reasons that our memory can decrease as we age. Two common causes include reduced blood flow to the brain and deterioration of the hippocampus.

Why is sleep important for memory?

Speaking of sleep quality, when it comes to memory consolidation, sleep is critical. There is no doubt that a good night's sleep leaves you feeling refreshed and sharp in the morning. This isn't just a feeling, however. While it may seem like you go completely dormant when you sleep, your brain is very busy processing information and forming new memories. It is believed that sleep is crucial in the process of forming long-term memories through memory consolidation.

How to stay sharp in memory?

This is why it is often said that learning new skills is the best thing you can do for your overall brain health. Learning to play a musical instrument, speak a new language, or learning a modern dance are all excellent ways to exercise your brain and give it the stimulation that it needs to stay sharp. If the mind is always repeating what it already knows, it will likely get rusty over the years, making it harder to learn and remember new things.

Why is memory consolidation important?

Memory consolidation appears to be a highly adaptive function because, as noted earlier, evidence of consolidation is found in a wide variety of animal species. But, why do our long-term memories and those of other animals consolidate slowly? There seems to be no a priori reason to assume that neurobiological mechanisms are not capable of consolidating memory quickly. Considerable evidence suggests that the slow consolidation of memories may serve a highly important adaptive function by enabling endogenous processes activated by an experience, and thus occurring shortly after the event, to modulate memory strength (McGaugh and Roozendaal, 2009; McGaugh, 2015 ). In a paper published shortly after those reporting that posttraining drug administration can enhance memory consolidation (e.g., Breen and McGaugh, 1961; McGaugh, 1966 ), Livingston (1967) suggested that stimulation of the limbic system and brainstem reticular formation might promote the storage of recently activated brain events by initiating a “…neurohormonal influence (favoring) future repetitions of the same neural activities (p. 576).” Kety (1972) subsequently offered the more specific suggestion that adrenergic catecholamines released in emotional states may serve “to reinforce and consolidate new and significant sensory patterns in the neocortex… (p. 73).” Although the specific details of current findings and theoretical interpretations differ in many ways from those early views offered by Livingston and Kety, recent findings are consistent with their general hypotheses.

How long does it take for a memory to consolidate?

Memory consolidation takes probably about 5–10 minutes and consolidation is completed after about 1 hour or so – and it has been shown that if protein synthesis is blocked in animals during the acquisition of LTM then the formation of LTM is prevented (Guyton 2008, p. 726). Furthermore, it is documented that if protein synthesis is blocked after about 4 hours, it shows no effect on learning (Barrett et al. 2012, p. 285) – obviously because consolidation is completed and there is no need for new CAMs. Perhaps these experiments stand as good examples for the role of dendritic pleats in LTM.

What is offset of reminder stimulus?

The offset of the reminder stimulus without the appearance of the VDS is critical for either reconsolidation or consolidation of the extinction memory to occur ( Pedreira et al., 2004 ). Thus both consolidation processes, reconsolidation or the consolidation of an extinction memory, only take place when the nonoccurrence of the reinforcement (here the VDS) is irreversible due to the termination of the reminder ( Pedreira et al., 2004 ). Pedreira et al. (2004) conclude that the mismatch between what is expected and what actually occurs triggers memory reconsolidation or extinction. Memory is not labialized when the reminder, i.e., the learning context exposure, is combined with the presentation of the VDS ( Frenkel et al., 2005; Pedreira et al., 2004; Pérez-Cuesta and Maldonado, 2009 ). Thus, in this paradigm it is possible to differentiate between memory reactivation (by exposing the animals to the learning context) and memory retrieval, i.e., memory expression, by the combined exposure to the learning context and the VDS.

Why is the 4 hour memory trace LTM?

the 4 hour memory trace is LTM because it requires both protein and RNA synthesis. They proposed that during periods of molecular transition, memory recall is weakened, allowing novel sensory cues to block the consolidation of LTM.

Which part of the brain is responsible for memory consolidation?

The time-limited role of the hippocampus for the storage of some types of memory has led to the widely accepted view of systems consolidation, in which neural alterations associated with memory consolidation and storage occur first in the hippocampus followed by the gradual consolidation of a more distributed memory trace in neocortical areas. This view is supported by findings from animal studies where the effects of pharmacological manipulations of different brain areas on memory consolidation depend on the time interval between training and intervention. Thus, memory consolidation and storage would involve the sequential activity of the hippocampus followed by cortical areas such as the entorhinal and posterior parietal cortices. More recently, evidence suggesting that the memory-related engagement of cellular mechanisms involved in synaptic plasticity occurs in the hippocampus and cortical areas with a similar time course has indicated the need for a more complex model in which long-term consolidation in humans depends on a complex and integrated interplay between the hippocampus and cortical areas rather than on a simple sequential activation of brain structures.

What is declarative memory?

Of central relevance for major territories of human cognition, declarative memory pertains to memory for complex facts and personally experienced events, and can be distinguished from a diverse set of memory phenomena collectively known as nondeclarative memory. Nondeclarative memory includes skill learning, habit learning, simple forms of conditioning, various types of priming that can be measured in implicit memory tests, and nonassociative forms of learning like habituation and sensitization.

What happens to memory during molecular transition?

They proposed that during periods of molecular transition, memory recall is weakened, allowing novel sensory cues to block the consolidation of LTM.

The retrieval of a memory can initiate processes in our brain that actively consolidate and

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.

What Role Does Sleep Play On Memory Formation?

play in memory formation? Word count (excluding title, abstract, cover sheet and references): I have checked this work through Turnitin: Yes/No Originality statement: By submitting this work online, using my unique log-in and password, I declare that this submission is entirely my own work. And that it does not contain any plagiarised material.

How Does The Hippocampus Plays A Vital Role? Memory Retrieval?

in memory retrieval. However the extent to what type of memories the hippocampus supports and the process in which retrieval occurs is an ongoing debate. The two theories that are dominant in this debate are the Standard Model of Systems Consolidation (SMSC) and the Multiple Trace Theory (MTT).

Dreaming Is Something That All Humans Do Essay

are many theories as to why we do it. The conventional view on what dreams are, is that they are experiences in our brains during REM, (rapid eye movement) sleep that are seen as real by the dreamer (Weiten & McCann, 2016).

The Association Between Sleep Quality And Pre Sleep

Learning and information consolidation not only depends on brain activation but also on sleep to convert the highly plastic, novel information into long-term storage.

Underlying Neurobiological Processes

literature that memories can generally be defined in terms of time (Nader, Schafe & LeDoux, 2000). Memory is sensitive to disruption soon after learning as it is in a labile state of short-term memory (STM).

What Is Memory Reconsolidation?

Bill can still remember it like it was yesterday. When he opens that 'door' in his mind (or is pushed through by some random association), he finds himself living it all again. He watches his baby girl turn her bicycle toward the street. He sees the bus. He sees himself trying to run, trying to intervene in what he knows will soon be a horrible tragedy. It happens again and again. His emotions take a nosedive, and depression sets in. Why should life matter when such a terrible event has occurred, an event that he is helpless to change?

How to move memories to conscious thought?

Step 1: Activate the memories. Verbalize the feelings, bringing them to the surface of your mind.

What is the process of recoding and reorganizing the information in a memory?

He can't ignore them, and they cause emotional impact every time they're accessed. Memory reconsolidation is a fairly new process of unlocking, recoding and reorganizing the information in a memory, which allows the mind to form a more healthy version of the memory.

Why is it hard to change your memory?

The intensity of the experience causes your brain to oversupply nutrients and enhancement codes, creating a vivid, lifetime memory. Once the memory is there, it's hard to change. All of the emotions that were encoded by stress into that memory are now part of you.

What is the model of memory consolidation?

Fig. 2. The standard model of memory consolidation. Perceptual, motor and cognitive information is initially processed by several specializedprimary and associative cortical areas represented by cortical modules. The medial temporal lobe, including the hippocampus and related structures, integrates the various features of an experience and fuses them rapidly into a coherent memory trace. System consolidation then occurs slowly over time and involves a hippocampal-cortical dialogue to gradually strengthen cortical-cortical connections. This process involves not only the strengthening of existing cortical-cortical connections but also the creation of new connections between previously unconnected neurons via repeated activation of hippocampal-cortical networks during periods of quiet wakefulness or sleep. As cortical memories mature and acquire stability, the functional role of the hippocampus gradually diminishes, enabling structured cortical networks to ensure retrieval of remote memories independently. A key feature of this model is that changes in the strength of hippocampal-cortical connections are fast but short-lasting whereas changes within cortical-cortical connections are slow but long-lasting. (Adapted from Frankland and Bontempi 2005)

What is the role of the hippocampus in the development of cortical memories?

As cortical memories mature and acquire stability, the functional role of the hippocampus gradually diminishes, enabling structured cortical networks to ensure retrieval of remote memories independently.

How does the hippocampus help memory?

2), the hippocampus is believed to rapidly integrate and bind together information transmitted from distributed cortical networks that support the various features of a whole experience in order to form a coherent memory trace. Consolidation of this new memory trace at the cortical level would then occur slowly via repeated reactivation of hippocampal-cortical networksr to progressively increase the strength and stability of cortical-cortical connections. Over time, as memories mature, the role of the hippocampus would gradually diminish, leaving extrahippocampal regions, presumably cortical areas, to become in

Memory Consolidation and Synapses

How Memory Consolidation Works

• By rehearsing or recalling information over and over again, these neural networks become strengthened. For example, if you study the same material regularly over a long period, the pathways involved in remembering that information becomes stronger. The repeated firing of the same neurons makes it more likely that those same neurons will be able to ...

See more on verywellmind.com

Influences on The Memory Consolidation Process

Speeding Up The Memory Consolidation Process

Overview

Systems consolidation

Systems consolidation is the second form of memory consolidation. It is a reorganization process in which memories from the hippocampal region, where memories are first encoded, are moved to the neo-cortex in a more permanent form of storage. Systems consolidation is a slow dynamic process that can take anywhere from one to two decades to be fully formed in humans, unlike synaptic consolidation that only takes minutes to hours for new information to stabilize into me…

History

Synaptic consolidation

Reconsolidation

See also

Further reading