Significance Human memory is a highly heritable and complex trait that is the outcome of several neurobiologically distinct mental processes, such as learning, memory maintenance, and emotional modulation of memory strength. Such processes, which are not always amenable to direct observation, can be dissociated using computational models. Here we provide converging evidence linking computational model parameters and related behavioral and neuroimaging phenotypes to sets of biologically related genes in several populations of healthy young and elderly adults. Our findings suggest that distinct genetic profiles underlie specific mental processes of human episodic memory. Understanding the genetic and neural bases of such processes is essential for the development of novel therapeutic approaches that could lead to a better treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders.