All parts of the brain › Memory

What part of the brain controls memory?

Memory has no single store. The hippocampus, deep in the temporal lobe, turns short-term memories into long-term ones; the prefrontal cortex holds working memory; the thalamus, the parahippocampal gyrus and the amygdala each take part too. [1][2]

The 3D brain needs JavaScript. The list of parts still says what each one does for memory.

Slice

All 6 parts are lit together. Drag to turn, pinch or scroll to zoom, tap a part on the brain or a name in the list to focus it; .

Memory: 6 parts lit

Hippocampus, parahippocampal gyrus, temporal lobe, prefrontal cortex, thalamus and amygdala. Tap one to see where it is and what it does.

The parts and their roles

Consolidates information from short-term into long-term memory, and is central to spatial memory and navigation. [1] Where is the hippocampus?
Plays an important role in encoding and retrieving memories; its parahippocampal place area encodes and recognises scenes rather than faces. [3] Where is the parahippocampal gyrus?
Its medial (inner) part, with the hippocampus, is essential for forming and storing memories. [4] Where is the temporal lobe?
Acts as a store of short-term memory and is held to implement working memory, the few items you keep in mind while using them. [2] Where is the prefrontal cortex?
Its anterior nuclei belong to the extended hippocampal system and are crucial for episodic memory, the memory of events; it connects to the hippocampus through the mammillothalamic tract. [5] Where is the thalamus?
Modulates memory consolidation: amygdala activity while learning correlates with how well the information is kept, which is why emotionally arousing events are remembered better. [6] Where is the amygdala?

How they work together

Working memory (holding a phone number while you dial it) leans on the prefrontal cortex; long-term memory of events and facts depends on the hippocampus and the medial temporal lobe around it. [2][1]
OpenStax groups the hippocampus and amygdala as medial temporal lobe structures that, with the cortex around them, are involved in long-term memory and emotional responses. [7]
Long-term potentiation, the strengthening of connections widely believed to be one of the main ways memories are stored, was first discovered in the hippocampus. [1]
Older memories seem to move out of the hippocampus over time; one leading theory says they are transferred to the neocortex during sleep. It is a theory, not a settled fact. [1]
Honest limit: memory for skills and habits (procedural memory) runs largely through other circuits, a loop from the cortex through the basal ganglia and thalamus and back, with the striatum tied to habits; this page lights the parts for memory of events, facts and places. [8]

Sources

Facts describe anatomy and normal function only. A part lit here takes part in memory; it does not do it alone, and it does other jobs too. The 3D model is the adult male BodyParts3D brain (credits and licence); on it the brainstem includes the midbrain, pons and medulla, so lighting the brainstem lights all three.