![Synapses from the brainstem Picture Unavailable](/sites/g/files/dgvnsk976/files/styles/sf_landscape_16x9/public/images/article/MAX_022911fixecalyxfill1-300x300.jpg?h=6c83441f&itok=1Tjv5u6h)
Protein is key to forming short-term memories
Short-term memory is essential for everyday life — whether remembering a phone number while dialing, carrying on a conversation, or forming the basis of long-term memories. Neuroscientists think that short-term memory is based on changes in both the properties of brain cells and the connections, called synapses, between them.