The (mis)remembrance of things past: Mechanisms of memory storage, updating and why we misremember

Abstract

Memory is a critical function of the brain; we treasure many of our memories, and it is widely believed that our past experiences make us who we are. However, decades of psychological research has revealed that we are prone to having misinformation introduced into our memories, and a recent study has suggested that many people's 'first memories' are not actually real, but reconstructions based upon family stories and old photographs. So, how are memories stored in the brain, and how can it be that what we remember is not necessarily what actually happened?.