However, if we believe that episodic memory developed to flexibly and creatively combine and rearrange memories of prior events in order to plan for the future, then it is quite a good system. If we believe that episodic memory evolved solely to accurately represent past events, it seems like a terrible system-prone to forgetting and false memories. We suggest that there is confusion between why consciousness developed and what additional functions, through continued evolution, it has co-opted. As such, copyright does not extend to the contributions of employees of the Federal Government. Copyright Act, a “work of the United States Government” for which copyright protection under Title 17 of the United States Code is not available. Direct URL citations are provided in the HTML and PDF versions of this article on the journal's website, Written work prepared by employees of the Federal Government as part of their official duties is, under the U.S. Supplemental digital content is available for this article.

Budson, MD, VA Boston Healthcare System, 150 South Huntington Ave, 10B-67, Boston, Massachusetts 02130 (email: ). The authors declare no conflicts of interest.Ĭorrespondence: Andrew E. and a grant (BCS-1823795) from the National Science Foundation to E.A.K. Supported in part by a P30 grant (AG072978) from the National Institutes of Health to A.E.B.

§Psychology and Neuroscience Department, Boston College, Boston, Massachusetts ‡Center for Health Humanities, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Boston, Massachusetts †Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts

*Center for Translational Cognitive Neuroscience, Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts

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