How memory works (7)

Between short-term and long-term memory, there is a path, and that path is using the pretty part of the brain called hippocampus because of its curly shape. What it looks like can be found here with a good presentation of brain structure or here with an introduction to the effects of alcohol on adolescents' brains.
What we know for sure is that if your hippocampus is impaired, new information does not go from short-term to long-term.
Where is the information stocked? I will give you a careful answer: in various places! We know that because people who have some types of surgery or a stroke can lose just one type of memory. For instance, after a first stroke, my mom did not recognize people any more: she said it was because she had a bad eyesight, but she read well without glasses and could see tiny spots on a mirror. She recognized her grandchildren by their voices. I once noticed that she had difficulties following movies: that is because she did not recognize faces. So despite there has been controversy, I believe that the memory of faces has a special place in the brain: if it is hit, your memory of faces and your capacity to recognize faces is gone. Words, numbers, visual information: all of that is stocked in different places.
It does not make sense to say that you have a poor memory: you are always better at some aspects of it than at others. For instance, I have good memory for words and numbers, and I am very poor at visual memory. I would not notice that the chimney is gone if I did not see bricks on the ground!
Besides, we can improve with exercise.