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Question of the Week / Re: QotW - 21.08.15 - How much of the brain is memory?
« on: 20/08/2021 14:42:51 »
Two areas of the brain are actively involved in remembering our experiences. The hippocampus is a storehouse of short-term memory, and the cerebral cortex is used for long-term storage.
It is not exactly concluded how long the hippocampus can keep memories (about 2 weeks or so).
Information is stored in engram neuron cells.
An engram is a trace left by an irritant. Taking a certain neurons’ processes, a repetitive signal (sound, smell, a certain environment, etc.) provokes some physical and biochemical changes in them.
When the stimulus is repeated, the ‘trace’ is activated. The cells in which it is present will recall the entire memory from the memory. In other words, engram neurons are responsible for accessing the recorded information, and in order for them to work, a key signal must act on them. The engrams can be quite small amount of neurons.
Thus, there is still a certain relationship between these two regions of the brain, and over time, the cerebral cortex takes on an increasingly important role in storing any memory.
Cortex uses large areas for recognition, reproduction, and presentation.
‘All over the cortex’ - yes, but what exactly is the percentage, depends. But it is proven, for instance, people, who are bilingual, have noticeably thicker cortex part. Hence, the percentage of brain occupied by memory depends a lot on how much you remember)
It is not exactly concluded how long the hippocampus can keep memories (about 2 weeks or so).
Information is stored in engram neuron cells.
An engram is a trace left by an irritant. Taking a certain neurons’ processes, a repetitive signal (sound, smell, a certain environment, etc.) provokes some physical and biochemical changes in them.
When the stimulus is repeated, the ‘trace’ is activated. The cells in which it is present will recall the entire memory from the memory. In other words, engram neurons are responsible for accessing the recorded information, and in order for them to work, a key signal must act on them. The engrams can be quite small amount of neurons.
Thus, there is still a certain relationship between these two regions of the brain, and over time, the cerebral cortex takes on an increasingly important role in storing any memory.
Cortex uses large areas for recognition, reproduction, and presentation.
‘All over the cortex’ - yes, but what exactly is the percentage, depends. But it is proven, for instance, people, who are bilingual, have noticeably thicker cortex part. Hence, the percentage of brain occupied by memory depends a lot on how much you remember)