Interesting that this involves a response similar to an immune response to a pathogen. I've read a couple articles about alternate theories of Alzheimer's linking it to an increased immune response in the brain.
How does that work in visual memory, does it break and fix it too and that quickly? I have strong visual memory that I remember back in school I used to remember the page and it’s page number just by looking at it for few seconds, and if I saw a face for a second even randomly anywhere, I can recall when and where for a long period after.. I find it hard to imagine or rather scary all that is breaking/fixing the dna..
Fascinating that the apparatus for memory between generations may also be used for memory within a generation. "Breaking" and "fixing" DNA could also be taken as a description of meiosis or mitosis. Perhaps there is some code re-use there.
Although I have nothing substantial to contribute to the topic, I can't help but notice the beautiful mess of the neural field shown in the image; a reminder of the complexity of the real world and the challenges that still remain. Very far from our organized models arranged in layers of 'objects' and the didactic diagrams containing two neurons, or even convolutional network diagrams. Which brings to mind the good Professor “it must be made as simple as possible, but not simpler”.
Interesting. I think TLR-9 stands for toll-like receptor 9. And these toll proteins were originally studied in fruit fly dorsal ventral patterning and also play a role in the innate immune system which we share with insects.
If this study is right (who knows if it will end up being reproducible), then this would be a great example of how evolution recycles existing proteins to "invent" new stuff.
Toll proteins were probably originally involved in body pattern formation, were recycled into a role in innate immunity, and finally in mammals may also play a role in triggering an immune response based DNA damage repair event that plays a role in memory formation.
I found one of the most interesting aspects of memory to be its non-locality. There were a lot of experiments in the 20th century (lesions etc.) showing that memory is fundamentally non-local. You could remove large parts of brains and the memories were still there. This is difficult to explain with "local" / neural-network-like theories of memory. If you lesion specific parts of GPT4, the "memory trace" will be gone.
I find this incredibly interesting. Is this still the primary view?
The hippocampus is involved in formation of new memories. Without it this process is not working at all.
Every neuron in the brain has unique DNA and ancestorship - ongoing record of neuronal life history.
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aab1785 (2015) : Somatic mutations create nested lineage trees, allowing them to be dated relative to developmental landmarks and revealing a polyclonal architecture of the human cerebral cortex. Thus, somatic mutations in the brain represent a durable and ongoing record of neuronal life history, from development through postmitotic function.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/scientists-surpri...
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.
interesting. Brings to mind this study:
https://sheldrake.org/files/pdfs/papers/An-experimental-test...
Memory and DNA are both weird. As an appreciator of weirdness it's fun to see that there's some kind of connection between the two. Anyone know if there a theory of weirdness where it would compound?
Huh, I wonder if this is why RCCX genes associated with autoimmune conditions / inflammation is also associated with higher IQs.
That's something we can use to interpret what is mentioned in "The Talent Code" book: https://www.amazon.com/Talent-Code-Greatness-Born-Grown/dp/0...
Prior research by the same lab in 2015:
What might this news imply about NSAIDS and their impact on forming memories?
damn assassin's creed got it right?
I am surprised no one has referenced the Animus here.
Terrence McKenna called it.
Does this mean education is carcinogenic?
Interestingly, although the hippocampus plays a massive role in memory consolidation, memories are ultimately distributed throughout the cortex.
I'm curious whether this mechanism generalizes to all neurons or is specific to how the hippocampus can learn quickly, especially since the hippocampus is the one place where neurogenesis has been found in adults.