The human brain holds about one billion neurons, which combine to make over one trillion connections, and each connection helps to store multiple memories. Probably not, says Northwestern University professor Paul Reber for Scientific American. Oh no! Since my brain is filled with 90s pop anthems, does that mean I’m running out of space for important new information? So, according to this study, my older, college-aged brain may have had trouble learning the new material simply because teeny-bopper song lyrics were there first. However, when the researchers induced young mice to produce more NR2A (making their brains more like those of adult mice), the young mice had trouble forming new connections and making new long-term memories at the expense of old ones. Compared to adult mice, young mice have higher levels of NR2B in the brain, while adult mice have increased levels of NR2A. The researchers looked at two proteins important for forming connections in the brain, called NR2A and NR2B.
But it can be difficult to get rid of strong old memory connections to make way for new ones, suggests a mouse study published earlier this year in the journal Scientific Reports and reported by the New York Times.
When we learn something new, the neurons in our brains make strong synaptic connections to ‘cement’ the memory. Why would memories of boy band songs from middle school take priority over academic material from college? This doesn’t seem intuitive: why are seemingly important facts often lost, while others (like the lyrics to “Bye, Bye, Bye”) are here to stay? I can recall very few of those academic details today, but I can probably remember the words to every pop music hit from my teen years. I remember spending countless hours memorizing biological processes for physiology class and reactions for organic chemistry. During the exam, will he remember this, or “Call Me Maybe?” (Image credit: mer chau via Flickr)Īs finals week approaches for many college students around the country, I can’t help but recall the late night study sessions of my own college years.
0 kommentar(er)
