We all wish for better memories. But how are memories stored? For all our neuroscience, we still do not know even the level in the brain where memories are stored—from inside neurons to long brain circuits. We do know that the synapses between neurons in the brain are critical, but how those chemical changes mean a specific memory remains a mystery. Learn more from Dr. Stickgold on what we know and where we need to go.

Robert Stickgold is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He graduated from Harvard University before receiving his doctorate in biochemistry from University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Closer to Truth, hosted by Robert Lawrence Kuhn and directed by Peter Getzels, presents the world’s greatest thinkers exploring humanity’s deepest questions. Discover fundamental issues of existence. Engage new and diverse ways of thinking. Appreciate intense debates. Share your own opinions. Seek your own answers.