Frontiers | Forgetting: Recent advances in understanding memory loss

About this Research Topic

Submission closed

Background

Psychology as a discipline was established largely around studies investigating memory loss. Ribot’s Maladies de Memoire marks the beginning of a field now called cognitive neuroscience, and Ebbinghaus’ forgetting curve arguably represents the birth of experimental psychology. These studies on forgetting, however, soon gave rise to theoretical notions that shifted the research focus to memory formation. The most persistent models were suggested early on. Ribot’s (1881) observations of amnesic patients led him to formulate the law of regression, which implies that memory coherence, or organization, and thus stability, progresses over time. Twenty years later, Müller & Pilzecker (1900) proposed that memory formation critically involves transient post-acquisition stabilization processes. Both these notions suggest that memory loss after learning will be an inverse function of time — the less complete the stabilization process, the more pronounced the memory deficit caused by some amnesia-inducing event. To this day, these insights form the core assumptions of consolidation theory. Over the years there have been numerous studies and findings in this area, reported in empirical articles, reviews and edited books. These have largely focused on the molecular, cellular, and systems aspects of consolidation, which have consequently been discussed in great depth and detail. Forgetting as a phenomenon in its own right, has been mainly investigated in cognitive psychology, but largely neglected by neuroscience. Importantly, there appear to be no coherent research programs that systematically study the psychology or neurobiology of forgetting.
Yet in most people’s lives complaints about unintended forgetting, in one form or another, are more prevalent than learning-related issues, and pathological forms of forgetting are devastating mental conditions for patients, their families, and society as a whole. Notwithstanding the century-old words of Burnham (1903) — “Not memory, but forgetting is the mystery”: the neuroscience of forgetting is either in its infancy or not present at all. Only a fraction of the numerous findings and theories on forgetting within the tradition of cognitive psychology have been described on the neurobiological level and have thus been linked to brain areas, neural circuitry, and molecular pathways. For example, while many cognitive psychologists maintain that non-pathological forgetting of long-term memory results either from decay or interference, the correlates of these presumed processes are not yet characterized on a neurobiological level, although similar processes have long been implemented in various neurocomputational models. The lack of a unifying and biologically plausible theoretical framework, and the absence of a well-defined scientific field devoted to forgetting contribute to the current situation, characterized by a widely dispersed and fragmented literature. One recent attempt to portray the state of forgetting research and to bring together various research traditions was put forward recently, in 2010, with the publication of the first edited book devoted to the topic.
It thus seems that a focus on forgetting has gained some momentum, and a Research Topic on this topic in Frontiers would further this movement and help tie this diverse field together. The contributions to this Research Topic should stimulate connections between neurobiology and behavior, i.e., neuroscience, cognitive, and experimental psychology, in one form or another. Reviews, opinions, positions, perspectives papers, and empirical papers would be welcome, as long as they focused on forgetting in humans or animal models. Behavioral empirical papers should discuss explicitly how the findings link to or impact the neurobiology of forgetting (brain structures, biologically plausible computations, etc.). Topics can comprise pathological as well as non-pathological forms of forg

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

Topic editors

oliver hardt
McGill University
Montreal, Canada

Frequently asked questions

Frontiers' Research Topics are collaborative hubs built around an emerging theme.Defined, managed, and led by renowned researchers, they bring communities together around a shared area of interest to stimulate collaboration and innovation.
Unlike section journals, which serve established specialty communities, Research Topics are pioneer hubs, responding to the evolving scientific landscape and catering to new communities.
The goal of Frontiers' publishing program is to empower research communities to actively steer the course of scientific publishing. Our program was implemented as a three-part unit with fixed field journals, flexible specialty sections, and dynamically emerging Research Topics, connecting communities of different sizes and maturity.
Research Topics originate from the scientific community. Many of our Research Topics are suggested by existing editorial board members who have identified critical challenges or areas of interest in their field.
As an editor, Research Topics will help you build your journal, as well as your community, around emerging, cutting-edge research. As research trailblazers, Research Topics attract high-quality submissions from leading experts all over the world.
A thriving Research Topic can potentially evolve into a new specialty section if there is sustained interest and a growing community around it.
Each Research Topic must be approved by the specialty chief editor, and it falls under the editorial oversight of our editorial boards, supported by our in-house research integrity team. The same standards and rigorous peer review processes apply to articles published as part of a Research Topic as for any other article we publish.
In 2023, 80% of the Research Topics we published were edited or co-edited by our editorial board members, who are already familiar with their journal's scope, ethos, and publishing model. All other topics are guest edited by leaders in their field, each vetted and formally approved by the specialty chief editor.
Publishing your article within a Research Topic with other related articles increases its discoverability and visibility, which can lead to more views, downloads, and citations. Research Topics grow dynamically as more published articles are added, causing frequent revisiting, and further visibility.
As Research Topics are multidisciplinary, they are cross-listed in several fields and section journals – increasing your reach even more and giving you the chance to expand your network and collaborate with researchers in different fields, all focusing on expanding knowledge around the same important topic.
Our larger Research Topics are also converted into ebooks and receive social media promotion from our digital marketing team.
 
Frontiers offers multiple article types, but it will depend on the field and section journals in which the Research Topic will be featured. The available article types for a Research Topic will appear in the drop-down menu during the submission process.
Check available article types here 
Yes, we would love to hear your ideas for a topic. Most of our Research Topics are community-led and suggested by researchers in the field. Our in-house editorial team will contact you to talk about your idea and whether you’d like to edit the topic. If you’re an early-stage researcher, we will offer you the opportunity to coordinate your topic, with the support of a senior researcher as the topic editor. 

Suggest your topic here 
A team of guest editors (called topic editors) lead their Research Topic. This editorial team oversees the entire process, from the initial topic proposal to calls for participation, the peer review, and final publications.
The team may also include topic coordinators, who help the topic editors send calls for participation, liaise with topic editors on abstracts, and support contributing authors. In some cases, they can also be assigned as reviewers.
As a topic editor (TE), you will take the lead on all editorial decisions for the Research Topic, starting with defining its scope. This allows you to curate research around a topic that interests you, bring together different perspectives from leading researchers across different fields and shape the future of your field. 
 
You will choose your team of co-editors, curate a list of potential authors, send calls for participation and oversee the peer review process, accepting or recommending rejection for each manuscript submitted.
As a topic editor, you're supported at every stage by our in-house team. You will be assigned a single point of contact to help you on both editorial and technical matters. Your topic is managed through our user-friendly online platform, and the peer review process is supported by our industry-first AI review assistant (AIRA).
If you’re an early-stage researcher, we will offer you the opportunity to coordinate your topic, with the support of a senior researcher as the topic editor. This provides you with valuable editorial experience, improving your ability to critically evaluate research articles and enhancing your understanding of the quality standards and requirements for scientific publishing, as well as the opportunity to discover new research in your field, and expand your professional network.
Yes, certificates can be issued on request. We are happy to provide a certificate for your contribution to editing a successful Research Topic.
Research Topics thrive on collaboration and their multi-disciplinary approach around emerging, cutting-edge themes, attract leading researchers from all over the world.
As a topic editor, you can set the timeline for your Research Topic, and we will work with you at your pace. Typically, Research Topics are online and open for submissions within a few weeks and remain open for participation for 6 – 12 months. Individual articles within a Research Topic are published as soon as they are ready.
Find out more about our Research Topics
Our fee support program ensures that all articles that pass peer review, including those published in Research Topics, can benefit from open access – regardless of the author's field or funding situation.
Authors and institutions with insufficient funding can apply for a discount on their publishing fees. A fee support application form is available on our website.
In line with our mission to promote healthy lives on a healthy planet, we do not provide printed materials. All our articles and ebooks are available under a CC-BY license, so you can share and print copies.

Share on

Frontiers in Psychology

Cognition

Impact

63kTopic views
44kArticle views
9,003Article downloads

View impact

Submit your idea