Episodic Memory: Brain Functions and Processes Revealed

Have you ever shared an experience with someone, only to have each of you recall it differently? This occurrence is a result of episodic memory, which is a person's unique memory of a specific event.

Specific details are associated with episodic memory, most notably how one felt during the event as well as the time and place of the event. These aspects contribute to the unique recollections of the memories. Episodic memory also incorporates semantic memory, which "refers to a portion of long-term memory that processes ideas and concepts that are not drawn from personal experience," according to Live Science.

There are three steps in the process that the brain undergoes to bring an episodic memory to fruition. The first step is called encoding, which occurs when the new memory forms in the brain. This step is rooted in the sense and begins with perception. Neurologists believe that the hippocampus and the frontal cortex are responsible for recording the sensory inputs at the time of the memory.

The second step is called consolidation, which essentially solidifies the event into your long-term memory to avoid it from being lost in a possible brain injury or impairment. The consolidation neurological process is responsible for creating short-term memory into long-term memory. The brain begins to form new pathways to the information that it encounters, further ingraining the memory.

The final step is recollection. This process "elicits the retrieval of contextual information pertaining to a specific incident," according to Live Science. Recollection is interesting because it can work in two different ways; a memory can be recalled with ease, or it may be burrowed somewhere in the brain and could need either a word, image, or smell to be remembered.

In summation, episodic memory is one's unique takeaway from an experience, while semantic memory involves the facts of the experience. Although these two memories are very different, they work together to help you recall and cherish all of your meaningful memories.