Neuronal models predict that retrieval of specific event information reacti
vates brain regions that were active during encoding of this information. C
onsistent with this prediction, this positron-emission tomography study sho
wed that remembering that visual words had been paired with sounds at encod
ing activated some of the auditory brain regions that were engaged during e
ncoding. After word-sound encoding, activation of auditory brain regions wa
s also observed during visual word recognition when there was no demand to
retrieve auditory information. Collectively, these observations suggest tha
t information about the auditory components of multisensory event informati
on is stored in auditory responsive cortex and reactivated at retrieval, in
keeping with classical ideas about "redintegration," that is, the power of
part of an encoded stimulus complex to evoke the whole experience.