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I think the evidence for this should be extraordinary because it is so apparently unlikely. Why would the brain store multiple copies of a memory? It’s so inef

I think the evidence for this should be extraordinary because it is so apparently unlikely. Why would the brain store multiple copies of a memory? It’s so inefficient.

gchamonlive 2y ago
Maybe if you think of it as hard drive, but a biological mechanism might benefit from multiple pathways that can potentially trigger.
austin-cheney 2y ago
On a small level computers do that: cpu cache (itself 3 levels), GPU memory (optional), main memory, hdd cache. The reason why animal brains would store multiple copies of a memory is functional proximity. You need memory near the limbic system for neurotic processing and fear conditioning. Long term storage is near the brain stem so that it can eventually bleed into the cerebellum to become muscle memory. There is memory storage near the frontal lobes so that people can reason about with their advanced processors like speech parsing, visual cortex, decision bias, and so forth.
- westurner 2y ago
  OT ScholarlyArticle: "Divergent recruitment of developmentally defined neuronal ensembles supports memory dynamics" (2024) https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adk0997 https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adk0997 "Our Brains Instantly Make Two Copies of Each Memory" (2017) https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/our-brains-instantly-make-two-copies-of-each-memory/ https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/our-brains-instantly-m... : > We might be wrong. New research suggests that our brains make two copies of each memory in the moment they are formed. One is filed away in the hippocampus, the center of short-term memories, while the other is stored in cortex, where our long-term memories reside. From https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-athletes-way/201704/mit-scientists-identify-brain-circuits-memory-formation https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-athletes-way/201... : > Surprisingly, the researchers found that long-term memories remain "silent" in the prefrontal cortex for about two weeks before maturing and becoming consolidated into permanent long-term memories. ScholarlyArticle: "Engrams and circuits crucial for systems consolidation of a memory" (2017) https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aam6808 https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aam6808 So that makes four (4) copies of each memory in the brain if you include the engram cells in the prefrontal cortex. What is the survival advantage to redundant, resilient recall; why do brains with such traits survive and where and when in our evolutionary lineage did such complexity arise?
pixl97 2y ago
Backup copies. Or do you not back up your data?
Arbortheus 2y ago
Maybe it works like a RAID array with parity data to repair corruption :-)
m463 2y ago
could be like a video container. video data; audio data; title information or... images; sounds; emotional state; more?
RaftPeople 2y ago
One possibility is that the different sets of neurons have different raw capabilities and the brain is utilizing features from all to balance retention rates etc.
bloopernova 2y ago
Evolution doesn't do things in the most efficient way. Example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recurrent_laryngeal_nerve#Evidence_of_evolution https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recurrent_laryngeal_nerve#Evid...

I think the evidence for this should be extraordinary because it is so apparently unlikely. Why would the brain store multiple copies of a memory? It’s so inefficient.

gchamonlive 2y ago

Maybe if you think of it as hard drive, but a biological mechanism might benefit from multiple pathways that can potentially trigger.

austin-cheney 2y ago

On a small level computers do that: cpu cache (itself 3 levels), GPU memory (optional), main memory, hdd cache. The reason why animal brains would store multiple copies of a memory is functional proximity. You need memory near the limbic system for neurotic processing and fear conditioning. Long term storage is near the brain stem so that it can eventually bleed into the cerebellum to become muscle memory. There is memory storage near the frontal lobes so that people can reason about with their advanced processors like speech parsing, visual cortex, decision bias, and so forth.

westurner 2y ago
OT ScholarlyArticle: "Divergent recruitment of developmentally defined neuronal ensembles supports memory dynamics" (2024) https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adk0997 https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adk0997 "Our Brains Instantly Make Two Copies of Each Memory" (2017) https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/our-brains-instantly-make-two-copies-of-each-memory/ https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/our-brains-instantly-m... : > We might be wrong. New research suggests that our brains make two copies of each memory in the moment they are formed. One is filed away in the hippocampus, the center of short-term memories, while the other is stored in cortex, where our long-term memories reside. From https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-athletes-way/201704/mit-scientists-identify-brain-circuits-memory-formation https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-athletes-way/201... : > Surprisingly, the researchers found that long-term memories remain "silent" in the prefrontal cortex for about two weeks before maturing and becoming consolidated into permanent long-term memories. ScholarlyArticle: "Engrams and circuits crucial for systems consolidation of a memory" (2017) https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aam6808 https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aam6808 So that makes four (4) copies of each memory in the brain if you include the engram cells in the prefrontal cortex. What is the survival advantage to redundant, resilient recall; why do brains with such traits survive and where and when in our evolutionary lineage did such complexity arise?

pixl97 2y ago

Backup copies. Or do you not back up your data?

Arbortheus 2y ago

Maybe it works like a RAID array with parity data to repair corruption :-)

m463 2y ago

could be like a video container. video data; audio data; title information or... images; sounds; emotional state; more?

RaftPeople 2y ago

One possibility is that the different sets of neurons have different raw capabilities and the brain is utilizing features from all to balance retention rates etc.

bloopernova 2y ago

Evolution doesn't do things in the most efficient way. Example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recurrent_laryngeal_nerve#Evidence_of_evolution https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recurrent_laryngeal_nerve#Evid...