UCSB scientists discover how the brain encodes memories at a cellular level ... (Santa Barbara, Calif.) –– Scientists at UC Santa Barbara have made a major discovery in how the brain encodes memories. The finding, published in the December 24 issue of the journal Neuron, could eventually lead to the development of new drugs to aid memory. The team of scientists is the first to uncover a central process in encoding memories that occurs at the level of the synapse, where neurons connect with each other. "When we learn new things, when we store memories, there are a number of things that have to happen," said senior author Kenneth S. Kosik, co-director and Harriman Chair in Neuroscience Research, at UCSB's Neuroscience Research Institute. Kosik is a leading researcher in the area of Alzheimer's disease. "One of the most important processes is that the synapses –– which cement those memories into place –– have to be strengthened," said Kosik.
This is a neuron. (Photo Credit: Sourav Banerjee) Part of strengthening a synapse involves making new proteins. Mind. Psychology Team. The Brain-Information about the Brain. 1 Introduction “I think, therefore I am.”
—René Descartes, 17th-century philosopher Few of us question the crucial importance of the brain. It is vital to our existence. Our brains enable us to think, as René Descartes so skillfully pointed out nearly 400 years ago. The brain makes up only 2 percent of our body weight, but it consumes 20 percent of the oxygen we breathe and 20 percent of the energy we consume. Scientists have worked for many years to unravel the complex workings of the brain. Despite these and other significant advances in the field of brain research, most of the processes responsible for the integrated functioning of billions of brain cells remain a mystery. An essential aspect of any scientific research is communicating results to the public in a way that is easily understood. To correctly interpret the information transmitted through these venues, we need a better understanding of basic concepts related to the brain. 2 Myths and Realities about the Brain Figure 1.
Letter-Color Synaesthesia. For as long as I can remember, I've had this implicit sense of a relationship between letters and colors.
To me, every letter seems to have a color of its own. When I think of a word, I am aware of its color and the color of its component letters. The phenomenon is consistent enough that I can rely on it to help me remember things like phone numbers and proper names. I call it my letter-color synaesthesia. Webster's Dictionary defines synaesthesia as "the production of a mental sense-impression relating to one sense by the stimulation of another sense.
" The effect is completely involuntary. Here's an approximation of the basic mapping of the letters and numerals, taken individually, to colors: Here they are again, over a dark background: This may seem odd, but it gets stranger. First of all, vowels almost always fade into the background in the presence of consonants. In longer words, the repetition of a single letter can even influence the other consonants, as in this case: Synchronicity. Keith Barry does brain magic TED talks.