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27 Jul 09
LEARNING, MEMORY AND PLASTICITY
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To some people, preservation of memory is the most essential task of
cryonics,
whereas others
regard feeling as being more critical. I am somewhat skeptical of both
these views, but I do not have an alternative thesis -- I am searching for
one. If memory is critical to identity, why do I perceive that in the last
year I have added memories, but not altered my identity? If some memories are
more critical for identity than others, what are those critical memories
and where do they reside? It may be true that to abolish all my
memories would abolish my identity -- but it is also true that stopping my
heart abolishes my identity. That does not prove that my heart is the essence
of my identity. Of course, I would prefer cryonic procedures that preserved
all of my memories. My identity may remain intact if I lose my vision
or a year's worth of memories, but I prefer to keep my vision and my
memories -- along with my identity. -
28 Nov 08
Memories may be stored on your DNA - 26 November 2008 - New Scientist
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To remember a particular event, a specific sequence of neurons must fire at just the right time. For this to happen, neurons must be connected in a certain way by chemical junctions called synapses. But how they last over decades, given that proteins in the brain, including those that form synapses, are destroyed and replaced constantly, is a mystery.
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16 Oct 08
Forming Social Memories
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such as the amygdala, which is specialized in the memory of emotions.
06 Jun 08
Plastic Brain Outsmarts Experts
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Most IQ tests attempt to measure two types of intelligence--crystallized and fluid intelligence. Crystallized intelligence draws on existing skills, knowledge and experiences to solve problems by accessing information from long-term memory.
Fluid intelligence, on the other hand, draws on the ability to understand relationships between various concepts, independent of any previous knowledge or skills, to solve new problems. The research shows that this part of intelligence can be improved through memory training.
Half an Hour: How Memory Works
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- Why study Aplysia?
- It is smart (for a snail) - it can create both short-term and long-term memories
- It is simple - it has only 20,000 neural cells
- Then neural cells are quite large, and hence easy to study
- It is possible to map in detail the synaptic connections between cells with each other and with sensory and motor systems.
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- Short-term storage for implicit memory involves functional changes in the strength
of pre-existing synaptic connections. - Long-term storage for implicit memory involves the synthesis of new protein and the
growth of new connections.
- Short-term storage for implicit memory involves functional changes in the strength
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25 Feb 08
Study identifies new patterns of brain activation used in forming long-term memories
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As the study�s subjects watched the episode, the researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine the subject�s brain function. Three weeks after the video was viewed, the study�s subjects returned to answer a series of questions about its content. The researchers then used the memory performance of subjects to analyze their brain activity during movie viewing. Using a novel inter-subject correlation analysis (ISC), they revealed brain regions for which this correlation is greater during successful, or accurate, as compared to unsuccessful memory formation.
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Traditional experiments, which relied on simple words or still images, have consistently revealed that the brain�s medial temporal lobes (MTL) and inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) are active during memory formation and retrieval. These regions were also active in the NYU-Weizmann study. However, the researchers also found activity in new areas: the brain�s temporal pole, superior temporal gyrus (STG), medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), and temporal parietal junction (TPJ).
Technology Review: Making Memories
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for the first time, the precise cellular connections that form as a memory is created. By tracing a protein tagged to glow fluorescent green as it migrates through individual neurons, from the cell body out through the branching dendrites, the researchers could see exactly which synapses--connections to other neurons--were involved when the mice learned to fear an electric shock.
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Neuroscientists believe that in order for a memory to form, individual synaptic connections must be strengthened in response to a memory-generating stimulus. This strengthening is likely the result of a specific set of proteins migrating to synapses in a precisely choreographed pattern, but it remains a mystery which proteins are involved and how they are targeted to their destinations. The new study, which appears in today's issue of Science, is the first to trace a particular protein as it makes its way to particular synapses.
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20 Feb 08
Forgetfulness is key to a healthy mind - being-human - 16 February 2008 - New Scientist
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. A 42-year-old woman from California, AJ remembers every day of her life since her teens in extraordinary detail. Mention any date since 1980 and she is immediately transported back in time, picturing where she was, what she was doing, and what made the news that day. It's an ability that has baffled and amazed her family and friends for several decades, but it comes at a price. AJ is locked in a cycle of remembering that she describes as a "running movie that never stops". Even when she wants to, AJ cannot forget.
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