PSYCH 050: Biology of Memory

Clinical Deep Dives · Jul 4, 2026 · 1h

This chapter explores how memory is encoded, stored, and retrieved within the brain - not as a static archive, but as a dynamic and evolving biological process.

Memory begins with encoding, where experience is transformed into neural activity. This is followed by consolidation, during which fragile traces are stabilised through synaptic and systems-level changes. Retrieval then reactivates these traces, bringing them back into conscious awareness - but each act of recall subtly reshapes the memory itself.

At a neurobiological level, memory depends on distributed networks. The hippocampus…