Do we have a certian amount of space in our head for memories or is it unlimited?

Question

Brilliant answers but does our brian form new pathways in order to hold more infomation , even though we don't remember the infomation it doesn't mean its gone.

Answer 1

It is limited. Remember, human brains physically cannot remember more information than there are neurons in them. So while we can learn many things, and compress our memories quite efficiently, yes, there is a limit as to how much we can remember.

Answer 2

Well, if you consider that hypnosis is used to "find" memories we thought had been erased, I would say that the brain's capacity for storing in unlimited. It is a bit disorganised and gets run down with time. It has always amused me that the older you get, the more you can remember things from your distant past, but not as much about what happened yesterday.
I think we store every memory somewhere in our brains, even if it is on a dusty back shelf we never think of.
When I was 14, my chemistry teacher said that every new smell we encounter is stored for ever in our brains and that many years later, although we might not actually remember it per se, we associate it with a feeling. Amazing! I remembered that, and only that, from my chemistry classes! I remembered it because I was disgusted at the idea of all those bad smells living on in my brain!
I blocked out the rest because I wasn't very interested in chemistry then, but I think if someone were to hypnotise me and ask me what experiments I did in which term of the school year, the memories would come.
Unless you have a disease such as Alzheimer's, the memories are still there. Maybe Alzheimer's is all about an overload storage dysfunction?
I am not a doctor, but I know we choose to block out painful memories or bad memories. Then sometimes, by way of association, they pop back up.
I think the storage capacity is unlimited.

Answer 3

The way I think about it is that memories have a physical basis in the fact that for the brain to make a memory, it has to organise neurons in a certain pattern. Therefore, if one memory takes up x amount of space in the brain then the brain has a limited capacity of however many number of times x. It might not be as simple as that as the way you remember things is linked so two memories might not take up 2x as they may utilise some of the same neron pattern.

I'm not sure how you would be able to test that hypothesis as we do tend to rember some things and forget others. My guess though, is that there is a finite capacity for memories in the brain, yet I am uncertain what that could possibly be.

Answer 4

Yes that's true our brain was unlimited in knowlegde, they have a certain space in our head for memories. as the part of the head brain has the typical responsible to the memories that we process of our mind. The human mind was categorize into 3 parts according to topographical structure of the mind the conscious, preconscious, and the unconscious. Among this three parts the unconsciuos mind was not avail to be proved what is the mysterious things happened to our mind. The unconscious part was continually discover and the preconscious part was the only memories that we know due to time memorial and last was the conscious those memories that we are aware what is happening in our environment.And proven that as our brain was worst appearance more knowledge and learning could acquired by the brain.

Answer 5

there is unlimited space. Neurons form their pathways early in life and remain there, however new pathways can be formed as happens in brain injuries. ie stroke. its all a question of selection. not everything we learn is stored in our long term memory. in order to remember things they must be relived....repeated over and over, even the simplist things have to be repeated ten times or more. once stored in long term memory they are always there it is then a question of recall. A trigger or key is required to unlock the memory....like when you meet an old friend and suddenly you remember when......but you had no recolection of that memory until you get that trigger.
interesting subject....but the capacity to remember and store memories is endless....unless you have brain injury when pathways are cut, or damaged.

Answer 6

i agree with kiteeze our brain have unlimited space for memories. Just think that there is 24 a hours in a day and during this 24 hours imagine how many events the brain memories it. then you have 30 days a month and 12 months in one year and what the average age a human being can live. may be 60 - 140. So how many events can a brain keep in a human being life.

Answer 7

I think the more you get practise in remembering ,the more your brain will be able to remember. We humans only use a very small portion of our brains, so, maybe there is enough unused brain space for us to have unlimited memory.

I also think those memories we dont have anymore are just stored some where, we just need to find where its hiding in our brains.

Answer 8

I think there is only a certain amount of space as all the new things I am learning seem to push out the old facts that I used to know. :-( Either that or I am going senile, but still in my 20's so I sincerely hope not...

Answer 9

That depends. For example, f you are a Sun reader, then when you are looking at page three, the memory banks are full.

In this particular case, the head is full of the same content as is befitting of the reader, in that they are all ****.

Answer 10

they have some style of convoluted good judgment in this. they think of that great employer pastimes are their pastimes with the aid of fact apparently purely those extensive businesses have the money to employ people to do their paintings so with the help of vote casting huge employer, they suspect their vote casting for extra jobs. it rather is naive thinking at perfect. it may be great if that have been the case yet history shows the different is frequently actual. companies are in employer for money. to no longer make jobs. workers are purely a mandatory evil of their eyes.