The concept of “memory storage” gave rise to the idea of a physical location in the brain where memories are stored, which led to the belief that there is a physical site in the brain where memories reside. In the 1940s Karl Lashley demonstrated that memory is not localized in any one region of the brain, but instead is distributed evenly throughout the entire brain. His colleague Donald Hebb described how learning takes place in terms of neural connections, showing that cells can change their neural connections through experience.
Every action or experience gives rise to a distinct pattern of connections within the brain. Hebb explained that cells that fire together, wire themselves together—if the action or experience is repeatedly performed, they strengthen and become “hardwired” into our minds as “assemblies” of cells. We learn through making associations between different assemblies—for example, when we learn to associate the sound of our mothers’ voices with the sight of their faces and the feeling of being held.
