Definition
Plain language
A neuroscience idea that the brain has a fast memory for individual events and a slow memory that distills patterns from many events.
As stated in the literature
Complementary Learning Systems theory, a cognitive-neuroscience framework distinguishing fast hippocampal episodic encoding from slow neocortical generalization, invoked in Auto-Dreamer as a design metaphor for the writer/consolidator split.
Also called: Complementary Learning Systems
Why it matters: It inspires AI memory designs that separate fast episodic storage of recent events from slow consolidation into reusable general knowledge.
For example, after a busy day, your hippocampus replays specific moments while your neocortex slowly extracts patterns like 'this neighborhood has lots of coffee shops.'