Memory is not a single recording stored in one place but a set of processes spread across the brain. When we experience something, sensory information is held briefly in short-term memory, which can juggle only a handful of items for a few seconds. If we pay attention or repeat the information, the hippocampus helps bind the details together and begins the slow work of consolidation. Over days and weeks, the memory is gradually transferred to the cortex, where it becomes more stable and less dependent on the hippocampus. Sleep plays a vital role in this transfer, replaying the day's events and strengthening useful connections.
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