Reconsolidation
Under some conditions, reactivated memories may become changeable before becoming stable again.
Definition
Reconsolidation is a proposed restabilization process that can follow destabilization of an established memory after its reactivation.
How to understand it
Initial consolidation follows learning; reconsolidation concerns an already established memory. Experiments with learned fear responses in rats helped show that reactivation can create a renewed period of vulnerability to interference. That experimental result supports a specific mechanism under specific conditions, not the claim that recalling any event always rewrites it.
The boundary conditions matter. Reactivating a memory, altering its content and demonstrating a biological restabilization process are different claims. Human changes in a story or a response can have several explanations. Calling every change reconsolidation would make the concept too broad to distinguish from ordinary new learning or reconstructive remembering.
Evidence: (Spielman et al., 2020); (Nader et al., 2000); (Nader et al., 2009)
A proposed updating study
Teaching scenario
Imagine researchers teach a neutral symbol’s association with a harmless outcome, verify retention later and then provide new information after a reminder. They compare this arrangement with matched groups receiving the new information without the reminder or after a different delay. Lasting differences might motivate a reconsolidation interpretation, but the comparison would still need to rule out alternative learning effects. This hypothetical design illustrates the inference problem; it is not a protocol or evidence that a personal memory can be erased.
Constructed for learning. This scenario is not a report of an empirical finding or a diagnosis.
Common confusion: Extinction
Extinction reduces responding when an expected relationship changes; reconsolidation concerns restabilizing a destabilized established memory.
Evidence: (Spielman et al., 2020); (Nader et al., 2000); (Nader et al., 2009)
Limits of the concept
- Reactivation does not establish that a memory destabilized or underwent reconsolidation.
- Animal laboratory findings do not guarantee safe, precise editing of human autobiographical memories.
Evidence: (Spielman et al., 2020); (Nader et al., 2000); (Nader et al., 2009)
Textbook connection
Related contextPsychology 2e: 8.2 Parts of the Brain Involved with Memory
Textbook connection provides background; the supplementary sources establish this concept more directly.
Supplementary concepts may extend beyond this section. The source notes below identify the evidence for those details.
Related concepts
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Sources and inspection notes
Checked October 21, 2026. An inspection date is not a source publication date. Definitions and scenarios on this page are original teaching explanations.
- Nader, Karim, Hardt, & Oliver. (2009). A single standard for memory: The case for reconsolidation. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 10(3), 224–234. https://www.nature.com/articles/nrn2590Supplementary conceptual evidence
Nader and Hardt (2009), scholarly review. Publisher key points and indexed record accessed; supports distinction between initial consolidation and reactivation-related restabilization, with boundary conditions. Source checked 21 October 2026.
- Nader, Karim, Schafe, Glenn, E., Doux, L., & Joseph, E. (2000). Fear memories require protein synthesis in the amygdala for reconsolidation after retrieval. Nature, 406(6797), 722–726. https://www.nature.com/articles/35021052Supplementary conceptual evidence
Nader, Schafe, and LeDoux (2000), original animal research. Publisher abstract available in indexed result; direct full page blocked by publisher authentication redirect. Supports a rat fear-memory demonstration, not universal human memory updating. Source checked 21 October 2026.
- Spielman, R. M., Jenkins, W. J., & Lovett, M. D. (2020). Psychology 2e. OpenStax. https://openstax.org/books/psychology-2e/pages/8-2-parts-of-the-brain-involved-with-memoryCourse textbook connection
Textbook connection provides background; the supplementary sources establish this concept more directly. Section opened and title verified on 21 October 2026.