From Recollection to Simulation: Exploring the Constructive and Distributed Nature of Memory for Future-Oriented Thinking

Abstract

Memory is far more than just storing or recalling the past; it is fundamentally future-oriented. This research illuminates this forward-thinking aspect of memory by closely investigating two key aspects of the human memory system. Firstly, memory storage is spread rather than centralised, which means that each piece of information is divided into activity patterns and distributed across the brain. Secondly memory is not fixed, but rather constructed; rather than a literal recall of the past, the brain reconstructs the experience using prior beliefs and experiences. These characteristics make the brain vulnerable to a variety of errors, including source memory failure (falsely assigning the source of a specific memory) and gist-based distortions (failure to recall separate item-specific information). This paper argues that the error-prone nature of memory is not an undesirable consequence of a defective human brain, but rather a basic element of the human memory system that enables it to plan for the future. Drawing on the Constructive Episodic Simulation Hypothesis and supporting functional MRI (fMRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) data, the paper explains how memory's distributed and constructed nature allows us to "pre-experience" the future. Memory is naturally future-oriented, molded in a way that permits us to intentionally design our future cognitive landscape.