I am a scientist, businessman, author, and philanthropist. For nearly two decades, I was a professor at Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health where I founded two academic research departments, the Division of Biochemical Pharmacology and the Division of Human Retrovirology.
from the Salk Institute in California, the brain’s storage capacity may be 10x greater than initially thought. Rather than holding information in specific areas of the brain, our memories are represented by the connections between neurons, called synapses.
How our brains learn and store information is dependent on synaptic plasticity, or the tendency for these connections to strengthen or weaken. Applying highly precise algorithms, the team of computational neuroscientists were able to measure the strength of these syntactic connections, and indirectly, the maximum storage capacity of our brains. Understanding how memories are stored first requires recognizing that there are different types of memory. Short-term memory holds information that our brains are actively processing, while our working memory enables us to manipulate those ideas in real time. Let’s say, you are tasked with remembering a random list of numbers. After a brief delay, the average person can only recall about 5-9 numbers. Short-term memory has a limited storage capacity, only holding information for a few seconds to a minute. The flexibility of short-term memory enables us to direct attention to immediate tasks, such as remembering a phone number long enough to dial it. Long term memory, on the other hand, is virtually limitless. Here, our brain stores information, skills, and experiences that make us who we are. Not every thought or experience, however, is stored long-term. Have you ever gone into a room in search of something only to forget what you were looking for? Or perhaps, forgot someone’s name just after being introduced? Transferring information from short-term to long-term memory requires active encoding, during which this information is linked to existing memories, given meaning, and organized into long-term storage for easy retrieval. When a memory undergoes encoding, activated neurons send chemical signals through their synapses, or connections with other neurons. This forms an interconnected network of neurons containing information regarding that memory. As you continue to recant or rehearse the memory, the network strengthens. The more you are exposed to that information, the more likely you are to remember it. In their study, Samavat et. al found that activating parallel neural networks containing the same number of connections, or synapses, produces a consistent increase in strength. Considering that the brain contains trillions of synapses, they were able to estimate the brain’s storage capacity, which seems to be much larger than initially thought. If long-term memory is so large, why are our brains prone to forgetting? Forgetting is a normal part of being human and increases with age. Psychologists and neuroscientists have proposed several theories for why and how forgetting occurs. Famed psychologist Sigmund Freud, for example, argued that forgetting enables individuals to avoid unwanted memories. Freud proposed that these memories are not merely erased but rather pushed into our subconscious.Modern theories in neuroscience, however, suggest that information is forgotten as the connections between neurons weaken. The less a memory is activated or rehearsed, the weaker the connection becomes. Eventually, the connection is so weak that retrieval of that memory is no longer possible. Structural changes in the brain as we age also diminish these connections, increasing forgetfulness. In fact, a significant loss of synapses is a major hallmark of Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. Reduced synapses between neurons prevent the formation and maintenance of memories, since information is unable to be passed from one neuron to another. Alzheimer’s disease also impairs synaptic plasticity, making the brain less responsive to learning. The technique that investigators at the Salk Institute applied to study synaptic strength may help us to elucidate the mysteries of Alzheimer’s disease. Deciphering how the brain makes and stores memories may one day pave the way for treatments that guard against this and other forms of dementia. As Alzheimer’s disease becomes more prevalent, it is becoming increasingly important to develop tools that can identify and treat individuals early.Our community is about connecting people through open and thoughtful conversations. We want our readers to share their views and exchange ideas and facts in a safe space.Insults, profanity, incoherent, obscene or inflammatory language or threats of any kindContinuous attempts to re-post comments that have been previously moderated/rejectedAttempts or tactics that put the site security at riskProtect your community.
Memory Learning Short Term Memory Long Term Memory Forgetting Synapses
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