APA Dictionary of Psychology

the hypothesis that information passes through two stages in memory formation. During the first stage, the memory is held by perseveration (repetition) of neural activity and is easily disrupted. During the second stage, the memory becomes fixed, or consolidated, and is no longer easily disrupted. The perseveration–consolidation hypothesis guides much contemporary research on the biological basis of long-term learning and memory. Also called consolidation hypothesis; consolidation–perseveration hypothesis. See also dual trace hypothesis. [originally proposed in 1900 by German psychologists Georg Elias Müller and Alfons Pilzecker (1865–1949)]