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Related Concept Videos

Repressed Memory01:16

Repressed Memory

Repressed memories are a psychological phenomenon where memories of traumatic events are unconsciously blocked from a person's awareness. This process occurs as a defense mechanism, protecting the mind from the emotional impact of distressing or painful experiences. For example, a person who has experienced childhood trauma may grow up with no conscious recollection of the event. In such cases, the memories are thought to be buried deep within the subconscious, inaccessible to the conscious...
Forgetting01:21

Forgetting

Forgetting is an intrinsic aspect of human memory, characterized by the gradual loss or inaccessibility of information over time. Hermann Ebbinghaus, a pioneering psychologist, extensively studied this phenomenon and formulated the forgetting curve. This curve illustrates that memory loss occurs rapidly immediately after learning and then decelerates over time. Several mechanisms contribute to forgetting, including encoding failure, storage decay, retrieval failure, and interference.
Encoding...
Interference and Decay01:16

Interference and Decay

Forgetting is a complex cognitive phenomenon influenced by several factors, among which interference and decay are particularly prominent. These processes explain why individuals often struggle to retrieve specific information from memory, leading to lapses in recall that can be observed in everyday situations.
Interference occurs when competing memories hinder the retrieval of particular information. It can be classified into two types: proactive and retroactive interference. Proactive...
Higher Mental Functions of Brain: Learning and Memory01:26

Higher Mental Functions of Brain: Learning and Memory

Memory is one of the most vital higher mental functions of the brain. Memory is closely related to learning because it enables us to retain information and experiences from our past to use them in our present life. It also helps us to remember facts, events, and skills, such as riding a bike or swimming. There are two types of memory — declarative memory, which involves memorizing facts or events, and procedural memory, which enables us to remember how to do something like writing or playing an...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 18, 2026

Design and Implementation of an fMRI Study Examining Thought Suppression in Young Women with, and At-risk, for Depression
08:42

Design and Implementation of an fMRI Study Examining Thought Suppression in Young Women with, and At-risk, for Depression

Published on: May 19, 2015

Active suppression in the mediotemporal lobe during directed forgetting.

Eva Ludowig1, Jürn Möller, Christian G Bien

  • 1Department of Epileptology, University of Bonn, Sigmund-Freud Str. 25, D-53105 Bonn, Germany. Eva.Ludowig@uni-duesseldorf.de

Neurobiology of Learning and Memory
|December 9, 2009
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Forgetting can be an active process involving memory suppression. This study found that directed forgetting cues altered brain activity in the hippocampus and rhinal cortex, suggesting active memory control.

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 18, 2026

Design and Implementation of an fMRI Study Examining Thought Suppression in Young Women with, and At-risk, for Depression
08:42

Design and Implementation of an fMRI Study Examining Thought Suppression in Young Women with, and At-risk, for Depression

Published on: May 19, 2015

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Epilepsy Research

Background:

  • Forgetting is traditionally viewed as a passive decay of memory traces.
  • Emerging evidence suggests active memory suppression mechanisms may contribute to forgetting.
  • Understanding these mechanisms is crucial for cognitive neuroscience and clinical applications.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether forgetting is a passive process or an active suppression of memory.
  • To examine the neural correlates of directed forgetting using intracranial event-related potentials (ERPs).
  • To explore the roles of the hippocampus and rhinal cortex in active memory suppression.

Main Methods:

  • 12 patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy undergoing presurgical evaluation.
  • Intracranial depth electrodes implanted in the hippocampus and rhinal cortex.
  • A single-item directed forgetting paradigm with to-be-remembered (TBR) and to-be-forgotten (TBF) words.
  • Analysis of behavioral recognition rates and intracranial ERPs.

Main Results:

  • Patients recognized significantly fewer TBF words compared to TBR words.
  • TBF cues were associated with decreased hippocampal negative ERPs, suggesting active suppression.
  • TBF cues elicited prolonged positivity in the rhinal cortex, potentially indicating involvement in suppression.

Conclusions:

  • Directed forgetting involves active suppression mechanisms, not just passive decay.
  • The hippocampus and rhinal cortex play distinct roles in the active suppression of memory contents.
  • These findings advance our understanding of memory control and the neural basis of forgetting.