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Volatility of Human Memory

Posted by samzenpus on from the help-finding-your-keys dept.

prostoalex writes "Scientific Americans looks into the human brain, trying to figure out why some events just tend to stick in our memories forever, while the others are gone: "How does a gene "know" when to strengthen a synapse permanently and when to let a fleeting moment fade unrecorded? And how do the proteins encoded by the gene "know" which of thousands of synapses to strengthen? The same questions have implications for understanding fetal brain development, a time when the brain is deciding which synaptic connections to keep and which to discard. In studying that phenomenon, my lab came up with an intriguing solution to one of these mysteries of memory.""

2 of 246 comments (clear)

  1. A few memories I would like to remember... by djeddiej · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    The first time I received a video game system (an Atari 2600, with Combat, Air Sea Battle) The first time I got wasted. The first time I won some money on a bet. The first time I had sex. The second time I had sex. The third time I had sex. How about the fourth time? And the fifth? Perhaps they will device a way to loop that memory, and perhaps stimulate the sensations of smell, sight and hearing too... Perhaps they will call it...the holodeck?

    --
    just a web application developer and instructor in Toronto, ON Canada
  2. Two Words: by Matey-O · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    EEEEEEAAAARRRRRR WOOOOOORRRRRRMMMMM! /me: Goes off singing 'Who let the Dogs out?'

    --
    "Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus."