Involvement of brain in memory:

•What is memory?

Memory is the process of taking in information from the world around us,
processing it, storing it and later recalling that information, sometimes many
years later. Human memory is often likened to that of a computer memory system or
a filing cabinet. Memory refers to the psychological processes of acquiring, storing,
retaining, and later retrieving information. There are three major processes involved in
memory: encoding, storage, and retrieval. Human memory involves the ability to both
preserve and recover information. However, this is not a flawless process. Sometimes
people forget or misremember things. Other times, information is not properly
encoded in memory in the first place.

•Types of Memory:

The different types of memory are sensory, short-term, and long-term. Researchers
categorize these by duration, capacity, and the type of information they store. Here’s
more about each one:

=>Sensory Memory:

Sensory memory stores sound, smell, touch, sight, and taste. It typically takes less
than a second to recognize sensory information. Our sensory memory makes the
sound or sensation linger for a brief moment before fading away when it’s no longer
relevant. All day long, sensory information overloads our brain, and it discards most
of it. But when something grabs our attention, your brain transfers the information to
our short-term memory.

=>Short term memory:

Also known as working memory, short-term memory is our ability to hold onto
small amounts of information for a short period of time. Studies show that people
with high processing speeds in their short-term memories can process up to 25–30
pieces of information per second. Short-term memory allows a person to recall a
limited string of information for a short period.These memories disappear quickly,
after 20 to 30 seconds. It is a type of short-lived storage that can only hold a few
pieces of information.

=>Long term memory:

Long-term memory stores a wide range of memories and experiences.

Most memories that people recall, especially those older than about 30 seconds, are
part of long-term memory. Many researchers divide long-term memory into two
subcategories: implicit and explicit.

•Brain involvement in Memory:

Before knowing the involvement of brain in memory there were two

parties. One, stating that the whole brain is involved in memory while
others were of view that only some specific brain areas were involved
in this process. Karl Lashley began exploring this problem, about 100
years ago, by making lesions in the brains of animals such as rats and
monkeys. He was searching for evidence of the engram: the group of
neurons that serve as the “physical representation of memory. But he
could not found any evidence for engram. Many scientists believe
that the entire brain is involved with memory. However, since
Lashley’s research, other scientists have been able to look more
closely at the brain and memory. 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. The main
parts of the brain involved with memory are the amygdala, the
hippocampus, the cerebellum, and the prefrontal cortex.

•Explicit memory:

Explicit memory is declarative memory because we consciously try to recall a specific

event or piece of information. Things we intentionally try to recall or remember, such
as formulas and dates, are all stored in explicit memory. The three main areas of brain
involved in explicit memory are: the hippocampus, the neo-cortex and the amygdala.

1. The hippocampus:

The hippocampus, located in the brain's temporal lobe, is where episodic memories
are formed and indexed for later access. One famous patient, known for years only as
H. M., had both his left and right temporal lobes removed in an attempt to help
control the seizures he had been suffering from for years. 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

2. The Amygdala:

The amygdala, an almond-shaped structure in the brain’s temporal lobe, attaches

emotional significance to memories. This is particularly important because strong
emotional memories (e.g. those associated with shame, joy, love or grief) are difficult
to forget. The main job of the amygdala is to regulate emotions, such as fear and
aggression. The amygdala plays a part in how memories are stored because storage is
influenced by stress hormones. There's an additional aspect to the amygdala’s
involvement in memory. The amygdala doesn't just modify the strength and emotional
content of memories; it also plays a key role in forming new memories specifically
related to fear. Fearful memories are able to be formed after only a few
repetitions. The permanence of these memories suggests that interactions between the
amygdala, hippocampus and neocortex are crucial in determining the ‘stability’ of a
memory .

3. Neocortex:

The neocortex is the largest part of the cerebral cortex, the sheet of neural tissue
that forms the outside surface of the brain, distinctive in higher mammals for its
wrinkly appearance. In humans, the neocortex is involved in higher functions such
as sensory perception, generation of motor commands, spatial reasoning and
language. Over time, information from certain memories that are temporarily
stored in the hippocampus can be transferred to the neocortex as general
knowledge.. Researchers think this transfer from hippocampus to neocortex
happens as we sleep.

=>Implicit Memory:

Implicit memory is also known as unconscious or automatic memory, which refers

to the information that we do not store purposely and is unintentionally
memorized; we cannot consciously bring that memory. The two main areas
involved in implicit memory are: basal ganglia and cerebellum.

1. Basal ganglia:

The basal ganglia are structures lying deep within the brain and are involved in a
wide range of processes such as emotion, reward processing, habit formation,
movement and learning. They are particularly involved in co-ordinating sequences
of motor activity, as would be needed when playing a musical instrument, dancing
or playing basketball. The basal ganglia are the regions most affected by
Parkinson’s disease. This is evident in the impaired movements of Parkinson’s
patients

2. Cerebellum:

The cerebellum, a separate structure located at the rear base of the brain, is most
important in fine motor control, the type that allows us to use chopsticks or press
that piano key a fraction more softly. A well-studied example of cerebellar motor
learning is the reflex, which lets us maintain our gaze on a location as we rotate
our heads.

=>Working memory:

The major area involved in working memory is prefrontal cortex.

1. Prefrontal Cortex:
The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is the part of the neocortex that sits at the very front
of the brain. It is the most recent addition to the mammalian brain, and is involved
in many complex cognitive functions. Human neuroimaging studies using
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines show that when people perform
tasks requiring them to hold information in their short-term memory, such as the
location of a flash of light, the PFC becomes active. There also seems to be a
functional separation between left and right sides of the PFC: the left is more
involved in verbal working memory while the right is more active in spatial
working memory, such as remembering where the flash of light occurred.