Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Forgetting01:21

Forgetting

287
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...
287
Interference and Decay01:16

Interference and Decay

354
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...
354
Dissociative Amnesia01:21

Dissociative Amnesia

384
Dissociative amnesia is a complex psychological condition that manifests as an inability to recall personal information, often tied to traumatic or stressful events. Unlike general amnesia, individuals with this condition retain the ability to perform routine activities and procedural tasks, such as operating a phone or navigating public transportation, yet experience profound gaps in autobiographical memory. These lapses may encompass significant life events, such as suicide attempts or...
384
Dissociative Disorders01:27

Dissociative Disorders

332
Dissociative disorders represent complex psychological conditions characterized by disruptions in consciousness, memory, identity, or perception. These disruptions cause individuals to experience a disconnection from their thoughts, emotions, and memories. The phenomenon is not merely an occasional lapse in attention but a profound alteration in mental functioning that can severely impact daily life.
Dissociative Fugue
A hallmark feature of dissociative disorders is the dissociative fugue...
332
Higher Mental Functions of Brain: Learning and Memory01:26

Higher Mental Functions of Brain: Learning and Memory

1.8K
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...
1.8K
Repressed Memory01:16

Repressed Memory

378
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...
378

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Modeling the hallucinatory effects of classical psychedelics in terms of replay-dependent plasticity mechanisms.

eLife·2026
Same author

RetINaBox: A Hands-On Learning Tool for Experimental Neuroscience.

eNeuro·2026
Same author

A double dissociation between semantic and spatial cognition in visual to default network pathways.

eLife·2025
Same author

An Enduring Role for Hippocampal Pattern Completion in Addition to an Emergent Nonhippocampal Contribution to Holistic Episodic Retrieval after a 24 h Delay.

The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience·2024
Same author

Theta and alpha oscillations in human hippocampus and medial parietal cortex support the formation of location-based representations.

Hippocampus·2024
Same author

Responses to Pattern-Violating Visual Stimuli Evolve Differently Over Days in Somata and Distal Apical Dendrites.

The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience·2023
Same journal

Prevalence and severity of mental health problems in early-career researchers: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Nature human behaviour·2026
Same journal

Representativeness and response validity across nine opt-in online samples.

Nature human behaviour·2026
Same journal

The growing concentration of national influence in global science.

Nature human behaviour·2026
Same journal

Political polarization in low- and middle-income countries.

Nature human behaviour·2026
Same journal

Political segregation in the US workplace.

Nature human behaviour·2026
Same journal

Potential mechanisms and functional significance of aperiodic neural activity.

Nature human behaviour·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Dec 18, 2025

A Prediction Error-driven Retrieval Procedure for Destabilizing and Rewriting Maladaptive Reward Memories in Hazardous Drinkers
08:05

A Prediction Error-driven Retrieval Procedure for Destabilizing and Rewriting Maladaptive Reward Memories in Hazardous Drinkers

Published on: January 5, 2018

10.1K

Dissociating memory accessibility and precision in forgetting.

Sam C Berens1,2, Blake A Richards3,4,5,6, Aidan J Horner7,8

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of York, York, UK. s.berens@sussex.ac.uk.

Nature Human Behaviour
|June 10, 2020
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Forgetting primarily reduces memory accessibility, not precision. Learning generalizable patterns creates a trade-off between accessibility and precision, but doesn't increase long-term memory capacity.

More Related Videos

The Double-H Maze: A Robust Behavioral Test for Learning and Memory in Rodents
09:01

The Double-H Maze: A Robust Behavioral Test for Learning and Memory in Rodents

Published on: July 8, 2015

13.0K
The Deese-Roediger-McDermott DRM Task: A Simple Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate False Memories in the Laboratory
07:26

The Deese-Roediger-McDermott DRM Task: A Simple Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate False Memories in the Laboratory

Published on: January 31, 2017

39.4K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Dec 18, 2025

A Prediction Error-driven Retrieval Procedure for Destabilizing and Rewriting Maladaptive Reward Memories in Hazardous Drinkers
08:05

A Prediction Error-driven Retrieval Procedure for Destabilizing and Rewriting Maladaptive Reward Memories in Hazardous Drinkers

Published on: January 5, 2018

10.1K
The Double-H Maze: A Robust Behavioral Test for Learning and Memory in Rodents
09:01

The Double-H Maze: A Robust Behavioral Test for Learning and Memory in Rodents

Published on: July 8, 2015

13.0K
The Deese-Roediger-McDermott DRM Task: A Simple Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate False Memories in the Laboratory
07:26

The Deese-Roediger-McDermott DRM Task: A Simple Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate False Memories in the Laboratory

Published on: January 31, 2017

39.4K

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Memory Research

Background:

  • Forgetting is a fundamental aspect of memory, yet the precise mechanisms of information loss remain unclear.
  • It is debated whether forgetting results in a loss of memory precision or accessibility.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether forgetting entails a loss in memory precision or accessibility.
  • To examine if learning generalizable patterns influences these forgetting processes.

Main Methods:

  • Assessed memory for word-location associations over four days.
  • Tested the impact of learning a generalizable pattern on memory precision and accessibility.

Main Results:

  • Forgetting was characterized by reduced memory accessibility, with no significant change in memory precision.
  • Learning a generalizable pattern led to enhanced accessibility but reduced precision.
  • This trade-off did not alter the total information retained in memory over time.

Conclusions:

  • Forgetting primarily impacts memory accessibility rather than precision.
  • Generalizable learning creates a specific trade-off in memory representation.
  • Findings provide constraints for theoretical models of forgetting and memory generalization.