Neat new brain science suggests that memory isn't lost, just unsynched.
"It appears that the electrical signals synchronize the brain regions that store each part of an object's memory so that those areas are connected," Dr. Hart, the study's senior author, continued. "This co-activation of brain regions likely represents the memory of the object itself. It may also explain why we may remember something clearly, and other times we can only come up with parts of the item we are trying to remember. Many times we say 'you know, it has humps, it lives in the desert …' This may occur when the rhythms don't synchronize with the regions properly. It could also explain why the memory will come to you at a later time."
