submitted by Dr. James Farley, DC, MS, BA, BS, BCIM, FAAM, FAIS
When it comes to the neuroanatomy of memory, various parts of the brain are involved. The hippocampus is primarily responsible for storing long term memory.
It is also a major player in slowing or breaking down your stress response. This is vital because stress has been shown to damage our memory. So as stress goes up memory can go down.
Another key area is the cerebellum. The cerebellum is the back and bottom portion of the brain and it controls and coordinates the entire brain.
It is essential that the cerebellum is working properly in order for anything, including your memory, to be working optimally. Then we have the amygdala.
This is where emotions are involved and what we know is, the more emotional the event is, the more vivid the memory is. The frontal lobe is responsible for recalling the information from your memory.
Your temporal lobe is involved with retaining verbal and non-verbal language and processing the information you get from your senses to be put into your memory. The parietal lobe is where all your sensations reach consciousness and memory retrieval.
Even the occipital lobe, which is mainly has a role in memory because it is where we receive incoming information from our surroundings to send to the hippocampus.
The neuroanatomy of memory is a complex and intricate system, involving various regions of the brain, each contributing uniquely to the process of memory formation, storage, and retrieval.
As research continues to unravel the mysteries of the brain, our understanding of memory and its neuroanatomical underpinnings will only deepen, perhaps even offering insight into dissuading illnesses that impact memory, such as Alzheimer’s and dementia.
Contact Dr. Farley’s office at 973-539-3311, fax 973-540-0069, and visit www.drjamesfarley.com.