Researchers from America have discovered that it is possible to store memories directly in long-term memory without having to pass through short-term memory first.
The human mind’s memory is divided into two main parts, the first of which is short-term memory, also known as “active memory,” and its role is to store a limited amount of information in the mind without review, provided that it remains available for retrieval for a limited period of time, and there is long-term memory, which is You process memories and retain them indefinitely.
Scientists say that among the characteristics of long-term memory is that it has unlimited capacity, retains memories for long periods without losing them, and makes it easy to recall these memories when needed.
Long-term memory is usually divided into several types, such as explicit memory, which stores memories and information that are consciously retrieved, episodic memory, which stores information about the events that a person experiences throughout his life, and semantic memory, which stores information that is used in daily life, such as the meanings of words. And how to deal with various data in the surrounding environment.
Long-term memory also includes procedural memory, which relates to a person’s motor skills, such as riding a bicycle, writing with a pen, swimming, etc. There is also associative memory, which retrieves specific memories through their association with old behaviors or situations for the purpose of developing them and gaining new experiences.
When the mind deals with daily input, it initially stores information in short-term memory for a limited period of time, then it successively gets rid of unimportant information to make room for entering new information, knowing that important memories move from short-term memory to long-term memory, where they are preserved. To retrieve it when needed.
Secret passage
But a team of researchers from the Max Planck Institute in Florida, USA, has come up with a new theory that says it is possible to store memories directly in long-term memory without having to pass through short-term memory first, which opens a new field for understanding the mechanism of human memory and knowing the conditions surrounding the human memory system. Storing memories in the human mind.
The head of the study team, researcher Myung Yun Shin, says, “This discovery is similar to finding a secret passage that leads to permanent memory inside the mind.”
Shen added in statements to the website “Science Daily”, which specializes in scientific research, that “the prevailing theories indicate that there is one path for the transfer of information from short-term memory to long-term memory, but now we have strong evidence indicating the existence of at least two paths for the formation of memories, one of which passes through short-term memory.” “Short-term memory leads directly to long-term memory, which indicates that the human mind is more flexible than previously thought.”
The study focuses on a specific enzyme inside nerve cells called “CAMK2,” which is linked to the formation of short-term memories. Previously, scientists relied on optogenetics to temporarily disable the work of this enzyme.
In the same way, the research team at the Max Planck Institute relied on light to disrupt the mechanism of short-term memory formation in the minds of mice.
It is known that rats prefer dark places, and if given the opportunity, they head to a dark place instead of a bright place. However, if a rat is exposed to a frightening experience in a dark place, this terrifying memory will modify its behavior and make it avoid heading to dark places in the future.
According to the SciTech Daily website, the research team resorted to exposing experimental mice to a frightening experience in dark places, and then used light to prevent this event from being stored in the mice’s short-term memory.
The experiment showed that after an hour had passed, the mice returned to entering dark places without fear, meaning that the research team actually succeeded in preventing this event from being stored in short-term memory.
But what surprised the scientists after that was that after several days, a week, or a month, the behavior of the laboratory rats changed and they began to refrain from entering the same dark places in which they had previously been exposed to a frightening experience, which conclusively indicates that the feeling of fear of the dark – which was not After the intervention of scientists, it was stored in short-term memory and was transferred directly to the long-term memory of rats, which allowed these animals to recall the feeling of fear after several days, weeks, or even months.
Parallel process
Researcher Shen says, “At first we were surprised by this observation because it did not agree with our prior ideas about the way memories are formed. We did not believe that it was possible to store information in long-term memory without keeping it for a period in short-term memory. But when we repeated the experiment several times… Using different research tools, we were able to verify the validity of this result and became convinced.”
He explained, “We have discovered that the formation of long-term memories is not a linear process that requires information to pass through short-term memory first. Rather, it is a parallel process that allows short-term memory to be bypassed at times.”
Researcher Ryohei Yasuda, a member of the study team at the Max Planck Institute, says, “These results made us reconsider our understanding of the formation of memories, and we are now trying to directly understand the conditions that lead to the formation of long-term memories, knowing that this scientific research may help in finding ways to retain information.” “On long-term memory if short-term memory is damaged in some people due to aging or health problems that affect mental perception.”