What would we do without a memory? We wouldn't remember the name of our best friends. We wouldn't remember all the facts we need to get a good grade on the next science test. What is a memory?
Scientists are learning more and more every day about what happens in our brain when it stores memories. We know that our short-term memory is always working in a front area of the brain called the prefrontal cortex. Short-term memory holds a fact for as long as you think about it and then it's gone. Our long-term memories are stored deep in a part of the brain called the hippocampus. All kinds of facts, ideas, and experiences are stored there even after we stop thinking about them. Our short-term memory and our long-term memory are always working together in what scientists call our working memory. With our working memory we can respond to things as they happen to us.
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