New research from scientists at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Janelia Research Campus shows that distant parts of the brain are called into action to store a single memory. The brain’s cortex which is the outer layer of tissue thought to be responsible for generating most thoughts and actions relies on connections with a small region in the center of the brain called the thalamus.
The thalamus is best known as a relay center that passes incoming sensory information to other parts of the brain for processing. But clinical discoveries indicate that certain areas of the thalamus may also play a vital part in consciousness and cognitive function. When a memory is formed in the brain, activity in the cells that store the information changes for the duration of the memory. Since individual neurons cannot remain active for more than a few milliseconds on their own, groups of cells work together to store the information. Neurons signaling back and forth can sustain one another’s activity for the seconds that it takes to store a short-term memory.
Svoboda and his colleagues wanted to understand if ALM stores these memories by itself, or if other parts of the brain work in concert with the ALM to store memories. ALM connects to several other brain regions via long-range connections. Zengcai Guo and Hidehiko Inagaki, postdoctoral researchers in Svoboda’s lab, tested those connections one by one, evaluating whether switching off neurons in various brain regions interfered with memory-associated activity in the ALM and impacted animals’ ability to remember their cues.
In further experiments, the team discovered that information flows both ways between the thalamus and the ALM portion of the cortex. The back and forth movement maintains these activity patterns that correspond to the memory. The finding highlights the functional importance of connections between distant parts of the brain, which are often neglected as neuroscientists focus their attention on activity within specific areas.
coachbchambers on May 20th, 2017 at 13:46 UTC »
I have been listening to a book called "Moonwalking with Eisenstein" , which covers in great detail how memory champions have taught them selves to memorize insane things like decks of cards and whatnot. Most of it is association or alliteration for small things like people's names. The most interesting part however is when the author explains the memory palace, which I've heard of before and what originally drew me into the book. The memory palace is essentially a place that has been created in the mind, usually your childhood home, and which you replace objects in the house with memories. I'm still trying to get the hang of it. Has anybody had success with this method of memorizing?
its_the_future on May 20th, 2017 at 11:55 UTC »
Not gonna call the article names, but let us know what ALM stands for please.
atworkworking on May 20th, 2017 at 11:30 UTC »
But what makes it so much easier for some people to remember where as others not? I have the worst memory in the world and Im only 31, somewhat healthy, and never done drugs.