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Updated: Jul 25, 2025
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Published on: April 26, 2024
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Multiple Memory Subsystems: Reconsidering Memory in the Mind and Brain
Brynn E Sherman1, Nicholas B Turk-Browne2,3, Elizabeth V Goldfarb2,3,4,5
1Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania.
Summary
The multiple memory systems framework is updated to multiple memory subsystems (MMSS). This new model proposes that opposing memory representations coexist within brain structures, while parallel representations are supported by distinct structures.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Memory Research
Background:
- The traditional multiple memory systems framework posits distinct brain systems for distinct memory types.
- Recent research challenges this one-to-one mapping, indicating brain structures support multiple memory functions.
- Key structures like the hippocampus, striatum, and amygdala are implicated in this complexity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose an updated framework for understanding memory organization: the multiple memory subsystems (MMSS) theory.
- To integrate cross-species findings concerning the hippocampus, striatum, and amygdala.
- To revise classic theories of long-term memory based on new evidence.
Main Methods:
- Cross-species data integration focusing on the hippocampus, striatum, and amygdala.
- Analysis of existing research challenging the traditional memory systems taxonomy.
- Theoretical framework development based on empirical findings.
Main Results:
- Evidence supports two organizational principles for the MMSS theory.
- Principle 1: Opposing memory representations are co-located within the same brain structures.
- Principle 2: Parallel memory representations are supported by distinct brain structures.
Conclusions:
- The MMSS framework offers a potential revision of classic long-term memory theories.
- Further validation requires specific types of evidence to solidify the proposed principles.
- This novel perspective on memory organization can guide future research directions.
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