Many scientists believe that the entire brain is involved with memory. Although LashleyвЂ™s early work did not confirm the existence of the engram, modern psychologists are making progress locating it. Based on his creation of lesions and the animalsвЂ™ reaction, he formulated the equipotentiality hypothesis: if part of one area of the brain involved in memory is damaged, another part of the same area can take over that memory function (Lashley, 1950). Lashley did not find evidence of the engram, and the rats were still able to find their way through the maze, regardless of the size or location of the lesion. He did this because he was trying to erase the engram, or the original memory trace that the rats had of the maze. Then, he used the tools available at the time-in this case a soldering iron-to create lesions in the ratsвЂ™ brains, specifically in the cerebral cortex. First, Lashley (1950) trained rats to find their way through a maze. He was searching for evidence of theВ engram: the group of neurons that serve as the вЂњphysical representation of memoryвЂќ (Josselyn, 2010). Recognize the roles of the hippocampus, amygdala, and cerebellumДЄre memories stored in just one part of the brain, or are they stored in many different parts of the brain? Karl Lashley began exploring this problem, about 100 years ago, by making lesions in the brains of animals such as rats and monkeys.Explain the brain functions involved in memory.

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

In memory of