Retrieval

This part presents four chapters on the concept of retrieval. The first chapter reviews four basic and greatly simplified sets of observations, that have been already published and which are relevant as a foundation for making some conclusions about how molecular mechanisms of retrieval might operate. It then presents some deductions, conclusions, and speculations about the molecular basis of retrieval and where the future might lie in this untapped area of molecular neurobiology. The next chapter discusses the apparent properties of retrieval and the characteristics of recently reactivated and recently acquired memories. The third refers to the concept of retrieval as information processing at a particular temporal stage of memory, namely that at which memory is made use of, and to the environment prevailing at that time, which includes the mental environment. The fourth chapter presents a synthesis of the chapters in this part.