memory trace

American  

noun

Psychology.

1. engram.

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memory trace British  

noun

1. psychol the hypothetical structural alteration in brain cells following learning See also engram

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Etymology

Origin of memory trace

First recorded in 1920–25

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

memory trace

Researchers designed this delay to interfere with the memory trace associated with the critical experience, potentially strengthening the intervention's effects.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 18, 2026

Once this fact is appreciated, then proper testing protocols can be put in place to minimize the likelihood that the original memory trace is contaminated.

From Scientific American ● Jun. 13, 2017

The movement and tactile response involved in handwriting leaves a memory trace in the sensorimotor part of the brain, which are retrieved when reading the letters involved.

From Economist ● Sep. 8, 2016

When we make neural connections to a song, we also create a strong memory trace that becomes laden with heightened emotion, thanks partly to a surfeit of pubertal growth hormones.

From Slate ● Aug. 12, 2014

Iodine and thyroid increase the electric conductivity of the brain, so that the memory trace must be deposited more easily in those who have an excess of thyroid.

From The Glands Regulating Personality by Louis Berman M.D.

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