Is the ventral tegmental area the main anatomical structure of memory storage?

Hüseyin Çaksen, Divisions of Pediatric Neurology and Genetics and Behavioral-Developmental Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Necmettin Erbakan University, Meram, Konya, Türkiye

Memory is a complex brain function that permits individuals to store and retrieve information. Although it has been suggested that many brain structures are responsible for memory, it is still unknown where memory information is stored in the brain. In this article, based on the current literature data, we briefly reviewed the structures and pathways in the brain responsible for memory to determine the main anatomical structure of memory storage in humans. Although many types of memories, such as short-term, working, sensory, episodic, semantic, procedural, and prospective memories, have been reported in the literature, all of them are nothing more than activated long-term memory. Recent studies have shown that in humans, not only the prefrontal cortex, midbrain, amygdala, hippocampus, and cerebellum, but also the whole brain, including the entire cerebral cortex of six brain lobes, subcortical structures and brainstem, are involved in the management, execution and functioning of memory systems and encoding, consolidation and storage of memories. However, there is only one area of memory storage the size of a lentil (or a mustard-seed) in the human brain. Considering its size, anatomical location, connections, and interactions with other areas of the brain, neural structure and functions, and cellular properties, we propose that the ventral tegmental area is the main anatomical structure of memory storage in humans.

Keywords: Memory. Memory storage. Human. Midbrain. Ventral tegmental area.