Topic: pattern classification

New memories are initially labile and have to be consolidated into stable long-term representations. Current theories assume that this is supported by a shift in the neural substrate that supports the memory, away from rapidly plastic hippocampal networks towards more stable representations in the neocortex. Rehearsal, i.e. repeated activation of the neural circuits that store a memory, is thought to crucially contribute to the formation of neocortical long-term memory representations. This may either be achieved by repeated study during wakefulness or by a covert reactivation of memory traces