Symposium 12: Ebbinghaus’ Legacy: Neuropsychological Studies of Long-Term Forgetting

Summary abstract:

Most clinical and research investigations of memory focus on consolidation of information over relatively brief intervals of time (i.e., minutes, hours). However, in everyday life we are most interested in retaining experiences for much longer periods of time (days, weeks, years). Studies in cognitive psychology demonstrate that the survival of an engram is influenced by a variety of factors including contextual aspects at time of initial learning, the age of an event, frequency and distribution of exposure to the memory over time and, of course, the amnestic capacity of the learner. In the current symposium we examine the durability of new memories as well those from the past. Presentations focus on medical factors, such as epilepsy and stroke, that result in acceleration of memory loss. The longevity of old memories is examined in relation to age-related decline and the onset of dementia. Findings from these studies enhance our understanding of the cognitive and neural underpinnings of consolidation and, hence, they inform our ability to remember our past.