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This paper reflects the research and thoughts of a student at the time the paper was written for a course at Bryn Mawr College !i"e other materials on Serendip# it is not intended to be $authoritative$ but rather to help others further develop their own explorations Web links were active as of the time the paper was posted but are not updated Contribute Thoughts | Search Serendip for %ther &apers | Serendip Home &age Biology '() *eb +eports ',,.rom Serendip

REMEMBER THIS: MEM R! "#$ THE BR"I# Su%anne Warren

/n his boo" The Society of Mind# Marvin Mins"y argues for a new theory of human cognition $0ery few of our actions and decisions come to depend on any single mechanism /nstead# they emerge from conflicts and negotiations among societies of processes that constantly challenge one another$ 1)2 Many scientists are applying this conception of the mind to the brain3s various sub4 functions# such as memory 5ccording to this model# memory is a holistic neural activity# involving many different areas and processes of the brain in an intricately choreographed dance Memory has been variously characteri6ed as $a process of information retention in which our experiences are archived and them recovered when we recall them$1,27 memories as $enhanced patterns of neuronal interconnections which are sub8ect to continual change$ 1927 and memory stores as $multi4modal networ"s of neurons throughout the nervous system$ 192 which $re:uire that nervous cells form new interconnections and produce new protein molecules$ 1,2 Short4term 1*or"ing2 Memory ;eurologists divide memory into long4term and short4term memory# or $wor"ing$ memory Some are beginning to argue for the existence of a middle4term memory as well 1-2 Short4term memory# or STM# $is the brain3s system for remembering information $in use $ Most people can only hold five to nine items in their short4term memory at one time /f they try to remember more than that# they will often end up forgetting the $middle$ items 1'(2 STM wor"s li"e this .irst# $the brain3s cerebral cortex receives nerve messages from eyes# ears# and touch sensors This sensory stimulus is held for a fraction of a second in the sensory memory

<nless an individual pays attention to the image for about eight uninterrupted seconds to encode the stimulus into short4term memory# it will be lost$ 1'(2 The memory then is stored on something a"in to an electronic tape loop 1although some scientists debate the existence of that loop2 $%nce a complete loop is made# three things can happen= 1'2 the information can be $rehearsed$ 1repeated2 silently or aloud# which will provide auditory cues7 >2 the information goes into long4term memory7 or )2 the information will be lost$ 1'(2 ?ohn Mac"in conceives of wor"ing memory as composed of three functions= $the central executive 1an attentional controlling system2 and two slave systems= the visuospatial s"etch pad# which manipulates visual images# and the phonological loop# which stores and rehearses speech4based information$ 1-2 1More information on the process of short4term remembering is included in $The &refrontal Cortex44Site of *or"ing Memory#$ below2 !ong4term Memory !ong4term memory# or !TM# is that part of our $memory storage system that has unlimited capacity to retain information over an extended time$ 1'(2 5t least three different types of memory are included in !TM $&rocedural memory represents motor or s"ill learning which is memory without verbal mediation and thus without record /t includes learning how to drive a car or tie your shoelace Such memories are slow to ac:uire but more resistant to change or loss $@eclarative memory is memory for facts# such as names and dates /t is fast changing# :uic" to ac:uire but :uic" to be lost Much of the loss is by design $ This is because $AcBonsiderable information activates the receptors but is not retained *e attend to meaningful or relevant stimuli and ignore unchanging or uninformative information$ 192 $+emote memory simply refers to memories that were ac:uired early They represent the foundation memories upon which more recent memories are built Since early ac:uired information is the foundation for new memories and may be lin"ed to many more new memories# such memory is less sub8ect to change andCor loss$ 192 The 5natomy of !ong4term Memory Both long4 and short4 term memory are composed of three processes= encoding# storage# and retrieval 1D2 These processes ta"e place in various locations in the brain# often simultaneously ;ot much is "nown about the physiology of long4term memory# although scientists speculate that the hippocampus is involved in the creation of long4term memory /t is unclear where long4term memories are stored# although there is some evidence that a single memory may be bro"en down into various elements and stored in many places at once 5s /rving Eupferman explains# $long4term memories are stored in multiple regions throughout the nervous system 1/n other words# they are not locali6ed but stored through circuitry2$ 1-2 .urthermore# $reflexive and declarative memory formation may involve different circuits in the brain +eflexive memory relies on the cerebellum and amygdala7 formative# on the hippocampus and temporal lobes$ 1-2 5nother area of dispute involves the generation of new proteins during long4term memory formation $Though long4term memory has been shown to re:uire protein synthesis# it is not "nown for sure whether these newly synthesi6ed proteins are used only in strengthening existing synapses or in growing new ones Circumstantial evidence may point to new synapse formation in learning= it has been demonstrated that an enriched environment leads to denser dendrite growth in rats Still however# the conclusive evidence that specific long4term memory formation relies on dendritic growth and structural synaptic changes has hitherto proven elusive$ 1-2 The &refrontal Cortex44Site of *or"ing Memory Since the ',-(3s# scientists have speculated that the prefrontal cortex# located in the forehead area of the brain# plays a central role in wor"ing memory 1'2 Fxperiments using &FT scans and functional M+/ on primates# coupled with observations of human brain in8uries# point to the fact that $the prefrontal cortex always seems to be $busy$ when target information is "ept $in mind$ 1'2 *riter

Tim Beardsley explains# $with neural connections to almost all the areas of the brain that process sensory information# Athe prefrontal cortexB is well situated to maintain a flexible store of information relevant to any tas" at hand$ 1'2 ;eurologist &atricia Goldman4+a"ic of Hale <niversity has begun to map the various areas of the prefrontal cortex into various regions associated with the different senses Her laboratory has found evidence that information about spatial location is confined to the sub4region of the prefrontal cortex# while processes related to visual appearance are in a separate area below that Her findings# however# are still controversial 1'2 Short4term memory is the sub8ect of various other arguments as well $Short4term memory may be either plastic or dynamic in nature# and this is still a matter of debate /n the plastic scenario# short4 term memories are formed by brief changes in synaptic transmissions /n the dynamic theory# it may arise out of a reverberating feedbac" circuit# where a memory is held electrically within a loop Thus# no physical changes are made# and synaptic connections are not modified $ !ong term memory# Aon the other hand#B may be encoded by plastic changes in existing synapses$ 1-2 Conclusion &erhaps the most fascinating :uestions about memory have to do with the connection between human consciousness and memory &sychologist Michael @awson notes that what ma"es memories feel so real is that $real4time experience is 8ust as indirect$ as remembered experience 1I2 /n other words# the neurobiological process of recollecting an experience is in some ways identical to the process of experiencing it in the first placeJ @awson goes on to point out that all consciousness can be said to be recent memory# due to the time lag between experience and the perception of experience 1I2 %ne can imagine this lag as a"in to the fifty second delay of a $live$ football broadcast ;ew discoveries about the nature of memory and the wor"ings of the mind are cropping up daily /n order to "eep up with the di66ying barrage of new information# /3ve included a list of websites used as source material for this paper /f you find yourself overwhelmed# 8ust tell yourself that none of this is really happening /t3s 8ust a memory# that3s all *orld *ide *eb Sources '2 $The Machinery of Thought#$ by Tim Beardsley# from Scientific 5merican >2 $Memories 5re Made of $ by Tim Beardsley# from Scientific 5merican )2 $Society of Mind$ K2 $5 Modular Theory of Cognition= Society of Mind$ I2 $Margin ;otes on Society of Mind$ by Michael @awson 92 $Memory$# from <niversity of Memphis ;europsychology &rogram -2 $The ;euroscience of !earning$ by ?ohn C Mac"in D2 $Science *eb *atches Television= Mission /mpossible445mnesia$ ,2 $Human Memory= *hat /t /s and How to /mprove /t$ by Silvia Helena Cardoso '(2 $;ewton3s 5pple= Memory$ | .orum | Biology | Serendip Home | Send us your comments at Serendip
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