Do our memories get imprinted onto our brain some how? If so, how does this work? What does the imprinting?

Question

If I had a memory of an event for example, would that be imprinted on the surface/inside of my brain tissue? If you could open up my brain and there was a scanner that could decode the information (like on a computer memory chip) could a computer linked up to the scanner pick up the memory?

Answer 1

Memories are encoded to neural pathways via synaptic sodium bridges
There are two forms
Short term encoding that lasts a little while (cram for an exam and forget everything right after you are done)
Long term encoding (this is the stuff you remember for a long time)

Answer 2

You have asked one of the most complex questions about brain functioning there is. Animals learn in ways similar to a human, but human memory is very complex. For instance, if I say the word 'rose' to you, your mind will not only conjure up a picture of a rose, but a 'smell' memory of how one smells, and perhaps a pain memory of when you pricked your finger on a thorn. There may also be an emotional memory associated with roses, if perhaps, the last time you associated with one, it was at your mother's funeral.
A single word or image can light up areas in the brain associated with vision, emotions, muscle memory and tactile sensation.
Scientists have been studying brain function for decades, and if you Googled memory research you could come up with hundreds of papers. There is no one theory on how memory is formed in the brain. No 'images' of things are imprinted on the surface of your brain tissue. It all looks the same from the outside, whether you are thinking or not. It's only how the cells interact with each other that causes retreival of a memory. If you could figure that out, you'd win a Nobel for sure.
There are injuries that can happen to the brain which can prevent the formation of new memories. These people wake up each day of their lives relearning what happened the day before, because they cannot make the experiences permanent.
A movie "Memento" was made about a guy with this problem, trying to find his wife's murderer.

Answer 3

I remember reading about a study done with inchworms. A scientiest "taught" them to constrict when a light was shined on them by shocking them while he applied the light. Eventually they started to constrict without the shock.

He ground them up into a paste, and fed them to untrained inchworms. A good percentage (like around 15%) of the untrained worms then reacted to the light by constricting. Interesting experiment that goes to show there must be some physical (and probably chemical) method for storing memories.

Actually for humans, we really don't remember anything. Current theory (called Gestalt theory - not sure on the spelling) suggests that we don't remember details. We remember an outline, and our mind fills in the details as we recall the memories. Some studies offered some great evidence of this...

What they would do is tell the subject some ficticous story over and over, as if it really happened to them (the subject) in their childhood. Like: "remember that time you got lost in the mall and started crying? You were so scared until that nice man helped you." Once the subject believed the story, they would say things like, "Yeah, I remember that man, he was wearing a red shirt." They could "remember" details that they were never told about a ficticous story.

Basically memory is a funny thing.

Answer 4

The cerebrum sits at the topmost part of the brain and is the source of intellectual activities. It holds your memories, allows you to plan, enables you to imagine and think. It allows you to recognize friends, read books, and play games.

At the top of each temporal lobe is an area responsible for receiving information from the ears. The underside of each temporal lobe plays a crucial role in forming and retrieving memories, including those associated with music. Other parts of this lobe seem to integrate memories and sensations of taste, sound, sight, and touch.


An arching tract of nerve cells leads from the hypothalamus and the thalamus to the hippocampus (12). This tiny nub acts as a memory indexer—sending memories out to the appropriate part of the cerebral hemisphere for long-term storage and retrieving them when necessary.

Answer 5

because of the fact we make blunders And as quickly as we fall from grace. (meaning dropping administration of existence) At those cases, the bible will become a reminder of what to do. If something became imprinted, that feels like the guy is being programmed. And God did no longer create robots. He made all issues for his exhilaration is what the bible says. i understand for a fact that God has each little thing planned completely.

Answer 6

The input devices are your 5 senses but the data at this point is too complex for our simple scanners & computers to process and decode. Maybe in 50 years.

Answer 7

It's something to do with the neurons in your brain... I watched a documentary about Heart transplants and how the people who received them suddenly changed their behaviour, similar to the person who's heart they had received and it is believed that the heart has it's own memory that receives and stores memories from the brain through the neurons being sent back and forth... The heart has a memory due to the fact that when you're heart stops and you are pretty much dead... When your heart is restarted it automatically returns to it's normal rhythm... Indicating that it is the hearts memory that regulates your heartbeat.

Answer 8

no, your bad thoughts will not change shape of your brain into a cube :) brain material is the same as nerves that transmitt info as electrical signals. there is some codes in the brain 'grey cells'. water also believed to transmitt info.. try to read more scientic info on that. very interesting

Answer 9

I think you are onto something big but I think that basic survival instructions are encoded in our genes.That is why we know what to eat even if we haven't seen anyone else eat it. Like an infant takes an unknown piece of food and proceeds to eat it without prior knowledge of what it is or tastes like.

Answer 10

not , they haven't invented it yet.

Brains are still poorly understood. They sometimes know where a thought or memory or motor control is happening but not yet HOW it happening. Someting to do with synapses firing, and sodium pumping.