How does the brain hold memories?

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How does something that is simply meat and tissue hold memories? Im watching a brain dissection study video and my mine is simply melting at the concept of something that looks like cauliflower and steak hold the perception of everything I know of in existence. Let alone have separate sections that control different actions. Thank you

In: Biology

5 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

First you need to make the distinction between long term and short term memories. Then within each there are different types of memories (implicit vs explicit, episodic vs semantic). I’m guessing you are referring more to the episodic type.

I think the idea is that memories are essentially circuits connecting different regions of the brain that represent the contents of our consciousness. Different stimuli (touch, taste, smell, etc) excite different regions of the brain. A memory can be elicited when the circuit is activated by a specific stimulus (ie explains why certain smells can sometimes associate with specific memories). The stronger the circuit, the more easily the memory can be remembered. Circuits that aren’t accessed fade with time (and are forgotten). It’s far more complicated than I have attempted to describe but the circuit analogy helps me understand the general concept.

I’d check out the book Moonwalking with Einstein for a better (and more interesting explanation).

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