[Mechanisms of memory bridging past and present].

The human mind develops through history within the passing of time. Thus, what determines the passing of time in the human mind? For example, when you are asked about yourself 10 years before now, you are able to answer by tracing back through your own experiences. You will be confident of your answer as far as you rely on your memory. Therefore, your personal memory is critical for the passage of time; however, how memory that allows for mental time travel is formed or maintained in the brain is largely unknown. This type of memory may exist only in humans. In this article, we review past studies on memories that emerge from time information in human and experimental animals.