Complexities of human memory: relevance to anaesthetic practice. Veselis R A British journal of anaesthesia Mechanisms of anaesthetic actions on memory have largely focused on easily definable aspects of episodic memory, with emphasis on particular drug interactions on specific memory processes. However, the memory landscape of the perioperative experience includes many facets that lie outside these conceptualisations. These include patient recall of preoperative conversations, patient beliefs regarding allergies and unusual/uncommon anaesthetic events, memories of awareness, and particularly vivid dreams during anaesthesia. In no small part, memories are influenced by a patient's interpretations of events in light of their own belief systems. From the practitioner's point of view, relating fully to the patient's experience requires some framework of understanding. The purpose of this review is to highlight research over the previous decades on belief systems and their interactions with autobiographical memory, which organises episodic memories into a personally relevant narrative. As a result, memory is a set of continuously malleable processes, and is best described as a (re)constructive rather than photographic instantiation. Belief systems are separate but closely interacting processes with autobiographical memory. The interaction of a constantly evolving set of memories with belief systems can explain phenomena such as illusions, distortions, and (re)constructions of factitious events. How anaesthetics and our patient interactions influence these behaviours, and vice versa, will be important questions to explore and define with future research. 10.1016/j.bja.2018.03.008

The hippocampus, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, and episodic and semantic memory. Progress in neurobiology The human ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC)/anterior cingulate cortex is implicated in reward and emotion, but also in memory. It is shown how the human orbitofrontal cortex connecting with the vmPFC and anterior cingulate cortex provide a route to the hippocampus for reward and emotional value to be incorporated into episodic memory, enabling memory of where a reward was seen. It is proposed that this value component results in primarily episodic memories with some value component to be repeatedly recalled from the hippocampus so that they are more likely to become incorporated into neocortical semantic and autobiographical memories. The same orbitofrontal and anterior cingulate regions also connect in humans to the septal and basal forebrain cholinergic nuclei, thereby helping to consolidate memory, and helping to account for why damage to the vMPFC impairs memory. The human hippocampus and vmPFC thus contribute in complementary ways to forming episodic and semantic memories. 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2022.102334

Short-term memory impairment in patients undergoing general anesthesia and its contributing factors. Amiri Ali Ahmadzadeh,Karvandian Kasra,Ramezani Nazanin,Amiri Amir Ahmadzadeh Saudi journal of anaesthesia Background:Short-term memory disorder following surgery and anesthesia is a common complication of anesthesia and a common complaint of the patients. Aims:This study was designed to assess memory impairment in patients undergoing elective surgery, investigate the effect of general anesthesia (GA) on memory, and identify the factors contributing to it, as well as the specific effect of anesthesia on each of the memory domains. Setting and Design:This cross-sectional study was performed in a university hospital. Methods and Materials:Patients with the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) Class I, II, and III who were candidates for elective abdominal surgery were enrolled. Patients answered several questions based on the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised V (WMS-R-V), a standardized questionnaire, minutes before entering the operating room (OR) and again after 24 h postoperation, and the differences were recorded. Statistical Analysis:Analysis was performed using T-independent and Chi-square tests with Pearson's coefficient and Fischer's exact test and Man-Whitney test. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software. Results:Four hundred patients (198 females and 202 males) with a mean age of 50.75 years were enrolled in our study. Our study results showed that short-term memory after GA was significantly decreased compared with preanesthesia ( < 0.05). There was no significant relationship between memory disorder following GA and gender ( = 0.18) or comorbidities ( = 0.138). However, older age was found to be a contributing factor to memory loss following GA ( < 0.001). The highest and lowest effect of GA were found on the number repeat (45.2%) and personal information (16.2%) domain of the memory. Conclusion:GA significantly reduces the patient's short-term memory after the surgery. 10.4103/sja.SJA_651_19

The Consolidation and Transformation of Memory. Dudai Yadin,Karni Avi,Born Jan Neuron Memory consolidation refers to the transformation over time of experience-dependent internal representations and their neurobiological underpinnings. The process is assumed to be embodied in synaptic and cellular modifications at brain circuits in which the memory is initially encoded and to proceed by recurrent reactivations, both during wakefulness and during sleep, culminating in the distribution of information to additional locales and integration of new information into existing knowledge. We present snapshots of our current knowledge and gaps in knowledge concerning the progress of consolidation over time and the cognitive architecture that supports it and shapes our long-term memories. 10.1016/j.neuron.2015.09.004