It is still unclear how the brain actually stores or deletes memories. Several researchers, who study the intricate functioning of the human brain, feel that the theory of consolidation offers the best explanation. This theory postulates that fresh impressions are stored at first as short-term memories in a region of the brain called the hippocampus. Newly acquired information then gets moved after a few hours or in couple of days, to the cerebral cortex. This occurs usually during deep sleep. Thereafter it gets stored as long term memory.
Investigations by Thomas Hahn, Mayank Mehta and the Nobel Prize winner Bert Sakmann from the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg have now shed new light on the mechanisms that create memory. According to their findings, the areas of the brainwork together, but possibly in a different way from that previously assumed.
