various parts of your learning brain—the cortex area, the amgydala,
and the hippocampus especially—all have roles to play.
Every time you sense something, an electrochemical connec-
tion is made. It leaves a trace or pathway of connections between
your synapses. Each one of these is, potentially, a memory. The
more a particular pattern of connections is activated, the more
likely it is that a memory will be created. For the memory to stick,
however, it has to mean something: your brain has to find some
meaning in it. Relevance to something you are already interested in
may help a memory to stick. Emotions also play an important part.
Chemicals are produced that act as effective transmitters to help
you lay down effective memories. It seems likely that, in moderate
amounts, the two neurotransmitters adrenaline and noradrenaline
(also known as epinephrine and norepinephrine) act as fixers, help-
ing to ensure that a memory becomes long term. (You probably
remember where you were and who you were with when you had
your first kiss, for example!)
However, if the emotion is so intense that your survival is
threatened, then your adrenal glands start to work more energeti-
cally, in case you need to fight it out or run away. If the stress con-
tinues, you may start to produce another chemical called cortisol,
which decreases your effectiveness to learn or remember.
To understand your memory, it may be helpful to have a
much clearer idea of how many different activities are encompassed
by this extraordinary capability. I started this section by distin-
guishing between laying down a memory and recalling it when
needed, but there are many other ways of looking at memory that
may also help you to be clearer about what you mean.Types of memory
Explicit or implicit?
You remember how to walk, talk, kick a football, drive a car, or ride
a bicycle implicitly. In other words, you do not have to consciously
remember what to do. In contrast, you have to be explicit aboutRemembering 119