Memory

Abstract

The cortical mechanisms underlying memory and internally generated imagery are examined. The celebrated case of HM, whose amnesia implicated the medial temporal lobes in memory function, is presented. The distinctions between persistence and retrieval memory, short-term and long-term memory, and recognition and recollection memory are reviewed. The reconstructive and fallible nature of memory and its implications for introspective reports of conscious experience is discussed. The role of memory in dreams and hallucinations is then considered. Finally, the interface between memory and conscious experience is targeted, the contention being that the frontal lobes are involved for every memory type via an interaction with posterior association cortices for recall memory; via an interaction with the perirhinal cortex for recognition memory.