The Brain May Store Memory More Like Your Computer RAM and Less Like Your Computer Hard Drive
THE BRAIN MAY STORE YOUR MEMORY MORE LIKE YOUR COMPUTER RAM AND LESS LIKE THE HARD DRIVE
A Memory Continuos Motor
"Are memories recorded in our brains as a stable physical change, like an inscription on a clay tablet? Israel Weizmann Institute of Science neurobiology chairman Prof. Yadin Dudai and colleagues think not. They recently discovered that the storing of long-term memories involves a molecular machine that operates constantly to keep memories going; "jamming" the machine erases memories".
"An enzyme in the brain (called PKMζ) behaves like a "continuous motor," constantly strengthening the connections between neurons, appears to be behind long-term memory storage". What is an enzyme? An enzyme is a chemical that acts to speed up a chemical reaction. Most of the time without an enzyme the reaction would be so slow that it would not happen for practical purposes
The enzyme, protein kinase Mζ (PKMζ), is part of a family of over 500 kinase enzymes,(a kinase is a type of enzyme that transfers phosphate groups) most of which transmit outside information into nerve cells.
"Most of these (memory) motors are in an inactive state, like an engine in a car that's parked," says Todd Sacktor, a professor of neurology at the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center in New York City. "You have to turn it on by pressing the accelerator; as soon as you take your foot off the accelerator, it stops." But unlike its other family members, PKMζ,...is synthesized when a memory is formed and then "essentially has no controls" and functions continuously, as if it had no "off" switch.
