When people forget something where does the memory or synapse go?

Question

I am aware that we are not computers moving files from place to place. But if the brain has formed a memory and produced a connection to a certain outcome, where does that go over time. Are our memory banks full? Were they repurposed for other useful memories that may help us survive?

In: 13

Answer 1

Several theories to that. One is that, much like a computer hard drive, the information is overwritten with new stuff. Another is that it never actually gets removed, but it becomes too much information for our minds to consciously handle, so it suppresses it.