Memory and Forgetting

Forgetting refers to the apparent loss of, or inability to access, information previously acquired and stored in memory. Everyday forgetting typically occurs incidentally through factors affecting the memory processes of encoding, consolidation, and retrieval. Forgetting can also be motivated. This intentional kind of forgetting can be observed, for example, through the suppression of retrieval or in response to instruction. Incidental and motivated forgetting are different from abnormal forgetting seen in retrograde amnesia, which is usually severe. This article explains the underlying cognitive and neurobiological mechanisms involved in these different forms of forgetting.