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Updated: Jun 25, 2026
08:05
A Prediction Error-driven Retrieval Procedure for Destabilizing and Rewriting Maladaptive Reward Memories in Hazardous Drinkers
Published on: January 5, 2018
A single standard for memory: the case for reconsolidation.
1Psychology Department, McGill University, 1205 Doctor Penfield Avenue, Montreal, Quebec, H3A 1B1, Canada. karim.nader@mcgill.ca
Nature Reviews. Neuroscience
|February 21, 2009
Summary
Memories are not fixed but can become unstable after retrieval and require restabilization, challenging the idea that memory declines irreversibly over time. This research highlights memory as a dynamic process, akin to its initial stabilization after learning.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Memory Research
Background:
- The traditional view posits that memory and its plasticity irreversibly decline over time.
- Recent research suggests memory is a dynamic process, not a static decline.
- Controversy remains regarding the nature of memory plasticity after reactivation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To challenge the notion of irreversible memory decline.
- To establish that post-retrieval memory plasticity is analogous to initial memory consolidation.
- To validate memory reconsolidation as a key dynamic process.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of operational definitions and evidence for memory consolidation.
- Comparative analysis of evidence for memory consolidation and reconsolidation.
- Extrapolation of findings from consolidation to post-retrieval plasticity.
Main Results:
- Identical operational definitions and evidence support both memory consolidation and reconsolidation.
- Memory reactivation leads to transient instability requiring subsequent stabilization.
- Post-retrieval plasticity mirrors the processes involved in initial memory stabilization.
Conclusions:
- Memory is a dynamic, not a declining, process throughout its lifespan.
- Memory reconsolidation involves plasticity mechanisms similar to initial consolidation.
- This validates the dynamic view of memory long-held in cognitive psychology.
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