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ANFA 2021: The role of the physical environment on memorization of experiences: perspectives and possibilities
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INTRODUCTION
SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE THAT POINTS TO LINKS BETWEEN MEMORY AND PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
This paper is concerned with the links between episodic memory
and the physical environment. To what extent could encoding of
memories be a ected by the surroundings of the space where EPISODIC MEMORY MEMORY, ENVIRONMENT AND BRAIN
they were rst experienced? Would we have stronger memories
about our experiences depending on where we were when we The term episodic memory was rst introduced by Endel Tulving in Hippocampus and Parahippocampal Navigation and memory Enrichment and memory
rst experienced them? 1972. He created the term to distinguish between remembering Gyrus One of the oldest Studies conducted with
The internet and online video conferencing allowed people to factual information (semantic memory) and remembering events from The hippocampus plays a key role in memorization techniques is adult rodents have shown
engage in a variety of activities from one same place. This the past (episodic memory). Thus, “episodic memories are long-term memory processing (Squire & known as the Roman that enriched environments,
situation was intensi ed recently, due to the COVID-19 pandemic consciously recollected memories related to personally experienced Zola-Morgan, 1991; Voss et al., 2017), Room, or Method of Loci, de ned as a combination of
and the increase of home o ce and home schooling. If events” (Ploran & Wheeler, 2009, p.1). as well as in spatial cognition created by the Greek and complex inanimate and
environments are an important element to support episodic Although recent studies have been showing the interconnections (Eichenbaum, 2017; Hartley et al., Romans. It involves social stimulation
between both kinds of memory (Greenberg & Verfaellie, 2010), 2013; O’Keefe & Nadel, 1978). Place visualizations of familiar (Rosenzweig et al., 1978),
memory encoding, perhaps some of the spaces we have been
episodic memories are a category of long-term memory that is cells – which support recognition of spatial environments in can stimulate synaptic
designing are not supporting memorization of experiences as
connected to a particular phenomenological experience that allows a spaces - are located in the order to enhance the recall plasticity (Leal-Galicia et al.,
they could be, especially in this new context of using only the
person to mentally travel back in time to relive a past episode and to hippocampus (O’Keefe & Dostrovsky, of information. It consists in 2008) and neurogenesis
home – or a room at home – to engage in so many di erent
be aware of the temporal dimension of their own existence (Martin- 1971) and studies suggest that they are mentalizing a spatial layout, (Kempermann et al., 1997)
activities.
Ordas & Atance, 2019). They can not only a ect performance in day- directly connected to episodic memory, like a building or street, and in various brain regions,
Although there is a signi cant amount of research about spatial including the hippocampus
to-day tasks, such as remembering people met and activities providing the spatial context for then memorizing a set of
memory, the e ects of the physical environment on memory memories by recalling the neural items by associating them (Ohline & Abraham, 2019).
engaged in, but also the sense of self (Guerine et al., 2018).
encoding about events and personal experiences have not been representation of the environments in with di erent locations in Notably, studies also point
Importantly, recent studies have pointed three main elements that
very explored. The investigation of such relationship, though, which they occurred (Smith & Mizumori, the mentalized layout. that enriched environments
compose episodic memories: recollection about what, where, and
can lead to better understanding about how the physical when something happened (Martin-Ordas & Atance, 2019). 2006; Tulving & Markowitsch, 1998). Retrieval of items is improve learning and
environment can a ect its users. Additionally, it can help The parahipocampal gyrus, a cortical achieved by 'walking' memory in young adult rats
architects to think of new strategies in order to design spaces WHAT + WHERE + WHEN region that surrounds the through the loci. O’Keefe & (Hullinger et al., 2015). In
that support memorization of events lived in them. hippocampus, is also known to be Nadel (1978) pointed that addition, long-term
The goal of this paper is to present a holistic framework about involved with memory encoding and the hippocampus, involved exposition to environmental
Episodic memories are not
the possible connections between spaces and episodic retrieval (Amino et al., 2013); with long-term memory, can enrichment since youth
disassociated from the place where
memories of personal events. It also aims to point spatial visuospatial processing relating to also form some kind of map might prevent memory
they took place. Consequently,
attributes that architects could consider to create spaces that scene perception (Ekstrom et al., 2003; in which all the elements decline and even increase
architecture, with its a ordances and
support memorization. Epstein et al., 1999; Park, & Chun, are interrelated and synaptic plasticity markers
multi-sensory stimuli, might play a
2009) and spatial representation simultaneously available. during aging (Leal-Galicia et
key role on episodic memorization.
(Mullally & Maguire, 2011). al., 2008).
E P I S O D I C M E M O R Y A N D S PAT I A L AT T R I B U T E S