The Principle of Code-Specific Memory Representations

Abstract

The hypothesis of distinct memory codes proposes that entities belonging to global categories as verbal and spatial representations, or to more specific categories as faces, objects, living or non-living entities, are stored and reactivated in functionally separate memory partitions. In this chapter we will summarize evidence which supports this principle of code-specificity in memory. First, we will briefly review the empirical roots which can be found in Cognitive Psychology, Experimental Neuropsychology, and Clinical Neuropsychology. We will then outline a general neuroscientific theory which explains why code-specific memory representations do most likely exist, and finally, in the main part of the chapter, we will give an overview over recent brain findings that are highly consistent with the idea of code specific storage and retrieval within topographically distinct neural networks.