ABSTRACT
Imagine the enormous range of memory systems involved in recalling the death of a loved person–and ending with a fresh batch of tears: all engendered by the dynamics of the memorial process. Working memory could be compared to a note pad on which stuff is jotted pending possible transfer to the computer of long-term memory. Episodic memory, perhaps because it involves a mixture of experiences, has a propensity to be unreliable. In abandoning an anatomical explanation for human beings' lack of early memories, Sigmund Freud unintentionally restricted not only his own comprehension of memory, but also a deeper understanding of some of the complexities of transference which have had to be winkled out by astute later observers. One promising theory to account for the memory gaps between the ages of two and four suggests that, as the brain matures, older hippocampal cells are replaced by fresh ones and with this exchange, older memories are lost.
