Scientists have known for quite awhile that memories are not formed and stored in just one part of the brain. Different aspects of a memory get stored and retrieved different places.  This is why you cannot point to a person’s head and say that memory of, say, an apple is in that spot.  However, they have known that short-term memory is created in a part of the brain called the hippocampus, and longer-term memory occurs in a part of the brain called the cortex.  It was believed that short-term memory was created first, then transferred later into the cortex for long-term storage and retrieval.

However, a study published in the journal Science last year showed that memory is created simultaneously in both locations.  This creation of short- and longer-term memory at the same time overturns what neuroscientists have long believed to be the case and underscores just how far we have to go in understanding how memory works.  It also serves as a reminder that the human brain is not a computer and does not function like one.

To read a bit more, check out this article from NOVA:  http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/next/body/our-brains-instantly-make-two-copies-of-each-memory/