[miniguy (OP)]

How does the brain make instant memories, for example taking one look at a telephone number or name and being able to instantly remember it?  For that to happen there must be an almost instantaneous change in the physiology of the brain.  It amazes me that the biology of the brain can change that fast.  It amazes me that I am able to remember something that quickly and view it in my brain like a photograph.  all this happening in a piece o meat that weighs about 1 kilo and is mainly water.

[Semprunz]

This forum has greatly increased my knowledge.

[evan_au]

How does the brain make instant memories

Some psychologists suggest that there are two forms of memory storage:
- short-term memory, which has a limited capacity, but can be remembered very quickly (and just as quickly forgotten)
- long-term memory, which has much larger capacity, but takes time and practice to be remembered
See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short-term_memory#Existence_of_a_separate_store

It amazes me that the biology of the brain can change that fast

The operation of memory in the brain is a bit of a mystery.
- We have better chances of understanding long-term storage in the hippocampus, because microscopic examination is starting to reveal regular structures in this part of the brain. There are small protrusions on synapses that seem to provide connections between neurons.
See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dendritic_spine
- However, short-term memory is more of a challenge. The fact that it can be rewritten repeatedly suggests that it is not a permanent physiological change, but a temporary change in the operation of the nerves.

If I can draw an analogy with computer memory (a tenuous connection, I know):
- Computers store data in "flip-flop" circuits, where the two parts of the circuit reinforces the information stored in the other.
- You can easily change the contents of this memory cell, but you change the electrical state of the two parts of the circuit
- You don't actually change the circuit itself
- I suspect that something similar might happen in short-term memory: you don't need a physiological change to change the memory