How your brain is like a film editor

The hippocampus may slice our continuous existence into ‘scenes’ suitable for storing memories

brain diagram with hippocampus

ACTION!  In a new study, the hippocampus (blue) was active during parts of films when one event ended and another began. That boundary-marking may help the brain package continuous experiences into discrete memories.

Henry Vandyke Carter - Henry Gray/Wikimedia Commons 

The brain’s hippocampi may be the film editors of our lives, slicing our continuous experiences into discrete cuts that can be stored away as memories.