Implicit memories are stored across several brain regions involved in procedural learning and emotional processing. The core sites most commonly implicated are:
- Basal ganglia: supports procedural memory, habit formation, and skilled movements.
- Cerebellum: involved in motor learning and fine-tuning of actions, contributing to implicit motor memories.
- Amygdala: modulates implicit emotional learning and memory, linking affect to experience.
- Interactions with cortex: implicit memory systems often connect with motor and sensory cortices as skills are practiced and automated.
By contrast, explicit (declarative) memories—such as personal events or factual knowledge—primarily involve the hippocampus and neocortex, with the amygdala influencing emotionally charged memories. These distinctions come from a large body of neuroscientific work on memory systems. If you’d like, I can summarize key studies or provide a concise comparison of implicit vs explicit memory systems with reputable sources.
