A few thoughts about memory, collectiveness and affectivity

The property of memory is strongly entangled with the notion of Time. Consideration of cosmological, physical, biological, and human memories shows the importance of collectiveness in its full expression. In humankind, affectivity seems to be of special importance for the transfer from short term memory to long term memory and the creation of permanent memory traces. The corresponding neurobiological mechanism in the brain implicates specific neurobiological networks, in which the hippocampus, the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex all play a part. This process seems to be largely controlled by neuromodulation networks of bioamines, in particular dopamine, the correct function of which seems to depend on the affective input from the subject, although much remain to be ascertained in this domain.