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Individual and Collective Memory Consolidation: Analogous Processes on Different Levels

 

The process by which we form memories is known as consolidation: converting spare bits of information into a stable representation of events. But four University of Illinois faculty claim that this process does not only apply to individuals, but to social groups as well. This could imply the existence of collective retrograde amnesia—the loss of particular memories by an entire social group.

Guests: Thomas J. Anastasio, Ph.D. (Associate Professor, Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology; Associate Professor of Biophysics; Associate Professor of Neuroscience; Member of the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois) and Wenyi Zhang (Ph.D. Candidate in Anthropology, University of Illinois).