Memory Atlas

Ever wonder how your brain remembers stuff? Like knowing that Paris is the capital of France, or remembering the time you tripped at your birthday party? These two types of memories are called semantic and episodic . But here’s a fun question: W hat came first? It turns out, scientists and brain researchers have been puzzling over this for a long time. A fascinating paper by Greenberg and Verfaellie (2010) explores this question in detail- and while it doesn’t give one final answer, it shares some cool insights that help us better understand how memory works. Two Kinds of Memory, Two Different Jobs Let’s break it down: Semantic memory is your general knowledge about the world. Like knowing what a microwave does or the names of colors. Episodic memory is your memory for personal events. Like that one time you had a surprise party. Tulving’s SPI Model: Semantic Comes First? One idea, called the SPI model , says that information goes through three steps: First, you see ...

Ever wonder how you can remember your last birthday party and also know that Paris is the capital of France- even if you’ve never been there? That’s because your brain stores different types of memories in different ways. Welcome to the world of episodic and semantic memory!                                                            Source- web.colby.edu cogblog 📖 What Is Episodic Memory? Episodic memory is like your brain’s personal diary . It holds memories of specific events from your life- things you experienced firsthand. 🎉 Your best friend’s wedding 🍰 The taste of your 18th birthday cake 🏞️ That one time you got lost hiking These memories are tied to a time and place-  you can "mentally time travel" and re-experience them. 🧠 Key feature: “I remember when…” 📚 What Is Semantic Memory? Sema...

Ever had a memory suddenly pop into your head while resting or drifting off to sleep- like a mini movie of your day? That’s a glimpse of what your brain might be doing behind the scenes through something called hippocampal replay . This process helps your brain learn from the past and even prepare for the future . Let’s explore how it works in simple terms. 🧠 What Is Hippocampal Replay? There’s a small but mighty part of your brain called the hippocampus (shaped like a seahorse!) that helps you remember things , especially events and places. Scientists found that during sleep or rest , your brain can "replay" past experiences by re-firing brain cells in the same pattern as when you lived through them. It’s like your brain is pressing "rewind" and watching parts of your day again- but much faster. 🐀 How did we discover this? In studies with rats running through mazes, special brain cells called place cells lit up in a certain order as the rat moved. Later...