The molecular, cellular, and biological perspectives of memory

Abstract

Memory is the process that maintains the stability of intellectual, spiritual, and everyday aspects of life. Both our conscious and unconscious life depend on memory and existence would be empty and meaningless without it. The mechanism of memory formation remains one of the greatest phenomena in the fields of biology and neuroscience. Questioning the mechanism involved in memory formation roughly began a century ago with the concept of the engram, and continues to date with the advent of tools capable addressing this query and offering leading contemporary views. The present paper focuses on the way in which memory is attained or preserved and discusses the molecular biology and mechanistic function of memory. After briefly debating the mechanisms of implicit memory, the present paper will discuss the explicit memory and the complex mechanisms of neural networks required to obtain, maintain, and express learned information. The present paper gives a comprehensive review of the important literature to highlight the main issues that exist in the arena of memory science. While addressing the main contributions to the field of memory, the present paper also emphasizes studies that provide a clear description of the manner in which molecular biology has transformed our understanding of brain plasticity and memory. Moreover, the present study discusses molecular insights into implicit memory by highlighting the specific aspects that have been perceived in genetically modified laboratory animals. Finally, the present paper concentrates on the mechanisms by which the human brain encodes, consolidates, reactivates, and updates explicit memory, by discussing studies that have made a significant contribution to this knowledge..