Does anybody know how memories are stored in the brain?

Question

I mean really really know the CHEMISTRY of memories... Not WHERE in the brain, or How the brain changes when it is storing something in memory, or how the brain breaks the memories up into separate parts... I mean what chemically makes a memory? What would it take to move a memory from one brain to another, like moving a file from one computer to another...

From everything I have seen and read, no one really knows. Is this true?

Answer 1

I think another good question related to this one is, are memories only physical phenomena? Are memories stored entirely in the brain, and the experience of them is what is potentially nonphysical, or are memories themselves nonphysical? Is anything nonphysical?

Answer 2

True, no one really knows. What I remember from my neurobiology course is the existence of something they called reverberant circles - this is when the last neuron in the chain sends one branch back to the first neuron, so the signal stays trapped for a while. But this was connected mostly to the short term memory. For a long term memory to form, brain has to be physically changed. My favorite is the theory that memories are stored as the different pattern of gene expression in different cells - then you would have a different RNA composition in different brain cells, depending on the memory they store. Then, perhaps, by mimicking this RNA composition you could transfer a memory to another brain. But this is very far fetched.

Answer 3

Firstly, let me say I am not a chemist, nor am I a neurobiologist. In fact, I don't know why yahoo answers thinks I'm certified to tackle this question at all because of my lack of credentials and qualifications. I am however a scientific researcher and a former subscriber to Scientific American.

When memories are formed it creates a crease in the brain. Negative influences, such as rain or extreme cold on the body, enhance the brains ability to remember. Memories as you know I'm sure are involved with the hippocampus in the brain. Neurotransmitters such as serotonin will increase a person's ability to remember an extremely pleasant experience. It has to do with the synaptic nerve firing into receptors of a nearby cell.

Can memories be transferred from one brain to another? Not yet. Could they someday in theory be transferred? Yes, I imagine with an increase in knowledge and technology. How would they do it? It is unknown at this point but it might be done with some type of scanning equipment and injections.

Answer 4

No one clearly understands the memory process. Heck, no one even understands how sound is converted to electrical(?) signals to send to the brain (though they know where it is done).

Most seem to agree that memories are stored at the synapses (nerve endings) in the brain as a small chemical change.

Answer 5

I suspect there are a lot of theorys and data out there, but I also suspect you are correct - no one REALLY knows. As far as "what it would take to move a memory from one brain to another?" - how about a simple conversation?

Answer 6

You can not understand the complexity of the brain by going into the molecular level (unlike other things). You have look at things as a whole. Usually it is the connections of neurons that give certain functions in your brain. The chemistry is same for all neurons... Releasing acetylcholine by one axon and attaching to another....

Hope that helps...

Answer 7

Neurochemistry really isn't that far along yet. Hopefully we'll get an answer to that in time.