Uploaded February 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
Ciara Greene discusses how human episodic memory works, and why our common assumptions about the role of memory
Show notes: braininspired.co/podcast/206
Patreon (full episodes and Discord community: patreon.com/braininspired
Apple podcasts: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/brain-inspired/id1428880766?mt=2
Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/2UZj8c8Ap5oc2gh2rJxLLe
The Transmitter is an online publication that aims to deliver useful information, insights and tools to build bridges across neuroscience and advance research. Visit thetransmitter.org to explore the latest neuroscience news and perspectives, written by journalists and scientists.
Read more about our partnership: thetransmitter.org/partners
For a deeper dive into the neuroscience of memory, check out this story:
What makes memories last—dynamic ensembles or static synapses?
thetransmitter.org/the-big-picture/what-makes-memories-last-dynamic-ensembles-or-static-synapses
Sign up for the “Brain Inspired” email alerts to be notified every time a new “Brain Inspired” episode is released: thetransmitter.org/newsletters
To explore more neuroscience news and perspectives, visit thetransmitter.org.
Ciara Greene is Associate Professor in the University College Dublin School of Psychology. In this episode we discuss Ciara's book Memory Lane: The Perfectly Imperfect Ways We Remember, co-authored by her colleague Gillian Murphy. The book is all about how human episodic memory works and why it works the way it does. Contrary to our common assumption, a "good memory" isn't necessarily highly accurate - we don't store memories like files in a filing cabinet. Instead our memories evolved to help us function in the world. That means our memories are flexible, constantly changing, and that forgetting can be beneficial, for example.
Regarding how our memories work, we discuss how memories are reconstructed each time we access them, and the role of schemas in organizing our episodic memories within the context of our previous experiences. Because our memories evolved for function and not accuracy, there's a wide range of flexibility in how we process and store memories. We're all susceptible to misinformation, all our memories are affected by our emotional states, and so on. Ciara's research explores many of the ways our memories are shaped by these various conditions, and how we should better understand our own and other's memories.
0:00 - Intro
5:35 - The function of memory
6:41 - Reconstructive nature of memory
13:50 - Memory schemas, highly superior autobiographical memory
20:49 - Misremembering and flashbulb memories
27:52 - Forgetting and schemas
36:06 - What is a "good" memory?
39:35 - Memories and intention
43:47 - Memory and context
49:55 - Implanting false memories
1:04:10 - Memory suggestion during interrogations
1:06:30 - Memory, imagination, and creativity
1:13:45 - Artificial intelligence and memory
1:21:21 - Driven by questions
Ciara Greene discusses how human episodic memory works, and why our common assumptions about the role of memory
Show notes: braininspired.co/podcast/206
Patreon (full episodes and Discord community: patreon.com/braininspired
Apple podcasts: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/brain-inspired/id1428880766?mt=2
Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/2UZj8c8Ap5oc2gh2rJxLLe
The Transmitter is an online publication that aims to deliver useful information, insights and tools to build bridges across neuroscience and advance research. Visit thetransmitter.org to explore the latest neuroscience news and perspectives, written by journalists and scientists.
Read more about our partnership: thetransmitter.org/partners
For a deeper dive into the neuroscience of memory, check out this story:
What makes memories last—dynamic ensembles or static synapses?
thetransmitter.org/the-big-picture/what-makes-memories-last-dynamic-ensembles-or-static-synapses
Sign up for the “Brain Inspired” email alerts to be notified every time a new “Brain Inspired” episode is released: thetransmitter.org/newsletters
To explore more neuroscience news and perspectives, visit thetransmitter.org.
Ciara Greene is Associate Professor in the University College Dublin School of Psychology. In this episode we discuss Ciara's book Memory Lane: The Perfectly Imperfect Ways We Remember, co-authored by her colleague Gillian Murphy. The book is all about how human episodic memory works and why it works the way it does. Contrary to our common assumption, a "good memory" isn't necessarily highly accurate - we don't store memories like files in a filing cabinet. Instead our memories evolved to help us function in the world. That means our memories are flexible, constantly changing, and that forgetting can be beneficial, for example.
Regarding how our memories work, we discuss how memories are reconstructed each time we access them, and the role of schemas in organizing our episodic memories within the context of our previous experiences. Because our memories evolved for function and not accuracy, there's a wide range of flexibility in how we process and store memories. We're all susceptible to misinformation, all our memories are affected by our emotional states, and so on. Ciara's research explores many of the ways our memories are shaped by these various conditions, and how we should better understand our own and other's memories.
0:00 - Intro
5:35 - The function of memory
6:41 - Reconstructive nature of memory
13:50 - Memory schemas, highly superior autobiographical memory
20:49 - Misremembering and flashbulb memories
27:52 - Forgetting and schemas
36:06 - What is a "good" memory?
39:35 - Memories and intention
43:47 - Memory and context
49:55 - Implanting false memories
1:04:10 - Memory suggestion during interrogations
1:06:30 - Memory, imagination, and creativity
1:13:45 - Artificial intelligence and memory
1:21:21 - Driven by questions
