Other memories might feel more ambiguous and faded, while the most stubborn ones don’t come up at all. “Memory isn’t just a passive recording device: Our brains decide what matters, and emotional events can reach back in time to stabilize fragile memories,” study co-author Dr. Robert M.G. “That’s what we tried to uncover, how the brain selectively strengthens those fragile memories.”Different types of memories are stored across interconnected brain regions. The team also found that if any secondary memories carried emotional weight themselves, the memory enhancement effect was diminished. It appears that the brain prioritizes fragile moments that would otherwise fade away, according to the team.