The Myth of the Brain as a Video Camera

Before we discuss what current research tells us about memory and recall, it may be helpful to address a common misconception that emerged from the work ofCanadian neurosurgeon Wilder Penfield in the 1930s and 1940s. Penfield reported that during surgery, an electrical stimulation of the temporal lobe produced episodes of recall, almost like seeing movie clips. Many concluded that the brain ―videotaped‖ life, and to remember things, our memories simply needed to be prompted. But these epi...