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Dumb question from a very last biology person. I thought memories were stored in the brain and The brain retrieved them. How does the brain get the data from t
by kenjackson 3y ago
Dumb question from a very last biology person. I thought memories were stored in the brain and The brain retrieved them. How does the brain get the data from the DNA for long term memories?
The article seeks like a simple explanation, but it still doesn’t make sense to me.
- pazimzadeh 3y agoLike most cells, brain cells have DNA. I don't think this is saying that the memory is directly encoded in the DNA, but that when a memory is formed (in this case a fear response), that can lead to breaks in neuronal DNA, and loose DNA in cells triggers the immune system, which then tries to repair the damage.
- kenjackson 3y agoAnd the repairing of this broken DNA by the immune system somehow strengthens the encoding of the memory? But the DNA itself doesn’t actually capture any of the memory. Is that accurate?
- namaria 3y ago> And the repairing of this broken DNA by the immune system somehow strengthens the encoding of the memory? "In other words, during damage-and-repair cycles, neurons might encode information about the memory-formation event that triggered the DNA breaks, she says." I'd say the researchers speculate something like what you said. The inflammatory response and the activities involved in DNA repair seem correlated with long term memory formation.
- rolph 3y agoso far its a correlate, not yet determined to be a direct mechanistic causation