Contextual recall is also referred to as context-dependent memory, contextual memory, and context reinstatement. There are two areas of the brain are thought to be involved in context-dependent memory: the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. ![contextual-recall-1.png](contextual-recall-1.png) ![contextual-recall-2.png](contextual-recall-2.png) Images from Wikipedia When I'm doing an activity, like yard work, I'll often remember an audiobook or podcast I was listening to when I'm in specific place I was doing that activity before. This isn’t unlike retracing ones steps after losing something. The is referred to as the *environmental reinstatement effect.* Recall is improved greatly when other environmental and contextually-related information is present that was also present with the original memory was encoded. This is why certain smells can suddenly bring back a memory that was long forgotten. --- ## References Wikipedia Contributors. “Context-Dependent Memory.” *Wikipedia*, Wikimedia Foundation, 16 Oct. 2018, [en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Context-dependent_memory](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Context-dependent_memory). Accessed 18 Apr. 2021.