Memory consolidation
Historical Development: – Memory consolidation first observed by Quintillian. – Ribot’s Law of Regression proposed in 1882. – Burnham’s paper integrated findings from psychology and […]
Historical Development:
– Memory consolidation first observed by Quintillian.
– Ribot’s Law of Regression proposed in 1882.
– Burnham’s paper integrated findings from psychology and neurology.
– Term ‘consolidation’ coined by Müller and Pilzecker.
– Studies on anterograde amnesia started in the 1960s and 1970s.
Mechanisms of Memory Consolidation:
– Synaptic consolidation: Faster than systems consolidation, involves late-phase LTP.
– Standard model: Involves alterations in synaptic protein synthesis, membrane potential, and gene expression.
– Long-term potentiation: Prolonged strengthening of synaptic transmission crucial for memory.
– Spacing effect: Distributed learning enhances memory consolidation and retention.
– Systems consolidation: Reorganization process from hippocampus to neo-cortex.
Different Types of Memories and Consolidation:
– Semantic vs. Episodic Memory: Rely on different systems, with episodic memories significantly involving the hippocampus.
– Declarative vs. Procedural Knowledge Consolidation: Declarative involves conscious recall, while procedural knowledge can exist without awareness.
– Emotional and Stressful Memory Consolidation: Involves the amygdala and stress hormones like epinephrine.
– Sleep Consolidation: REM sleep is essential for memory consolidation, with slow-wave sleep aiding in the process.
Reconsolidation Theory:
– Active process of recalling and consolidating previously stored memories.
– Criticisms and distinctions from consolidation.
– Application in psychotherapy and potential for permanent change.
– Mechanisms, factors influencing, and neurobiological perspectives on memory consolidation.
Research and Advancements:
– Studies on protein synthesis, long-term potentiation, and gene expression in memory consolidation.
– Factors influencing memory consolidation like dietary flavonoids and contextual enrichment.
– Neurobiological perspectives on memory consolidation involving hippocampal complex and amygdala.
– Memory consolidation and synaptic plasticity, including the synaptic tagging and capture hypothesis.
– Extensive research on memory consolidation in neuroscience and psychology fields.
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.
