• Question: How is memory created?

    Asked by sarahmarbe to Suzi, Damien, Rachael, Simon, Tim on 14 Jun 2011. This question was also asked by noury911, jodiebowey23, oliviabu007, ninjanae, mazzie10, oliviaeganx, kibo, harrikj, lucyhenshall.
    • Photo: Suzi Gage

      Suzi Gage answered on 14 Jun 2011:

      Hi @sarahmarbe and @noury911
      I’ve been trying to answer this question all day, because it’s REALLY complicated but also really interesting. When I was at University, there was a whole module of my course just on how memories are created. There’s loads of different types of memory, and also different theories about how memories are stored.

      But the basic concept is that memories are formed by a thing called Long-Term Potentiation. This is a fancy term which means that when 2 neurons (brain cells) fire at the same time, the connection between the 2 of them becomes stronger. There are certain areas in the brain where this happens when memories are being created, suggesting it actually IS the memory creation itself. One such area is the hippocampus (this word is actually latin for Seahorse, because the part of the brain is shaped like a seahorse!). Another suggestion that this is the home of memory is that brain damage in this area leads to people losing their ability to create new memories.

      I hope this answers your question, let me know if you’d like more info! 🙂

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