Flashbulb Memory

The sudden onset of a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event. When you are trying to remember something and then it "all of a sudden comes to you", you have experienced a flash bulb memory. It is like turning on a light.

A good example of this, is most people remember where they were and what they were doing when they first heard about the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Or a more recent example, when COVID lockdowns were announced.

This term was defined by Roger Brown and James Kulik in 1977.