The mysteries of long-lasting memories
© 2018 EPFL
In a recently published paper in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, Zimbul Albo and Johannes Gräff review the surprisingly scarce knowledge of what makes memories long-lasting.
Despite the fact that long-lasting memories are paramount in shaping our identities, surprisingly little is known about how such memories are formed and subsequently stored in the brain. Reviewing the available evidence ranging from theoretical considerations to systems, synaptic and molecular neuroscience, a picture emerges that long-lasting memories are likely encoded at different levels and sites in the nervous system, and that this process starts at the first learning instance. Interestingly, epigenetic mechanisms might play a central, yet hitherto underappreciated role in this process.