Memory - how it works!
Memory is the storage of information in the nervous system.
Much of the sensory inputs (sensations)which we experience are stored in the brain(cerebralcortex mostly )but also in the lower brain and spinal cord ,for future control of activities or the Thinking process.
The storage of information is called Memory.How does it function?
This is a function of the nerve synapses(junctions)
The sensation (for eg. Pain or touch )enters the nerve from the sensory receptors through the hairlike "branches"of the nerve and are then carried through the "stem"of the nerve(axon) to the" branches " of the next nerve, through a "junction"(synapse),and this goes on through as many as 200000 synapses(junctions )till the sensation reaches the cerebral cortex.
These sensory experiences from visual ,ear ,touch or other receptors,can either cause immediate reactions from the brain or can be stored in the brain for minutes ,weeks or years,and can determine bodily reaction at a future date.
Each time a certain type of sensory signals pass through sequences of synapses (nerve junctions)these
synapses become more capable of transmitting the same type of signal next time,a process called facilitation .After the sensory signals pass through the synapses a large number of times,the synapses become so facilitated that,signals generated in the brain itself can cause transmission of impulses through the synapses even when there is no sensory input from the receptors.This gives the person a perception of experiencing the original sensations although the perceptions are only memories of the sensations .These memories which are stored in the nervous system,become part of the brain processing mechanism for future "Thinking".
The thinking process of brain compares new sensory experiences with stored memories,and then channel this into appropriate memory storage.
See you soon...
Much of the sensory inputs (sensations)which we experience are stored in the brain(cerebralcortex mostly )but also in the lower brain and spinal cord ,for future control of activities or the Thinking process.
The storage of information is called Memory.How does it function?
This is a function of the nerve synapses(junctions)
The sensation (for eg. Pain or touch )enters the nerve from the sensory receptors through the hairlike "branches"of the nerve and are then carried through the "stem"of the nerve(axon) to the" branches " of the next nerve, through a "junction"(synapse),and this goes on through as many as 200000 synapses(junctions )till the sensation reaches the cerebral cortex.
These sensory experiences from visual ,ear ,touch or other receptors,can either cause immediate reactions from the brain or can be stored in the brain for minutes ,weeks or years,and can determine bodily reaction at a future date.
Each time a certain type of sensory signals pass through sequences of synapses (nerve junctions)these
synapses become more capable of transmitting the same type of signal next time,a process called facilitation .After the sensory signals pass through the synapses a large number of times,the synapses become so facilitated that,signals generated in the brain itself can cause transmission of impulses through the synapses even when there is no sensory input from the receptors.This gives the person a perception of experiencing the original sensations although the perceptions are only memories of the sensations .These memories which are stored in the nervous system,become part of the brain processing mechanism for future "Thinking".
The thinking process of brain compares new sensory experiences with stored memories,and then channel this into appropriate memory storage.
See you soon...
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