How does the human brain store memories?
402542
There are a number of theories, but the short answer is "nobody knows".  Could be establishment of new synapses, could be changes in receptor sensitivity, could even be new neurons stimulated to develop, but at this point, we dont have any real idea.
1035185
They do in a developing embryo, but not in a fully developed animal/person.\n\nWhat brain cells CAN do is create connections between each other, creating more neural pathways that aid in recollection.  But if you damage your brain enough, it won't recover.
83418
It depends on our individual make-up.  Some of us can remember a whole whole lot of what we're told.  Some can remember very little.  It depends on learning styles too.  Some people learn by seeing, some by touching, some by hearing.  Where does it come from?  Somewhere in our brains, but I can't tell you exactly where.
580655
the brain holds information most effectively when that piece of information is repeatedly fed into it. \n\nso the ultimate key for memorization is REPETITION.\n\nbut there are methods that i can suggest to help make the repetition process more efficient.\n\nA. FOR A LIST OF THINGS, FACTS, FIGURES..\n1. mnemonics are very useful in memorizing. make an acronym out of the first letters of the list of things or ideas you are memorizing.\n\n2. also, imagination and association helps. for example, you are supposed to memorize this:\n\ndog\ncane\ngreen\nlady\ndress\n\nyou could somehow think of an association between these words and imagine it. you could think of a dog holding a cane meeting a lady wearing a green dress.\n\nB. FOR POEMS, SPEECHES...\n\n1. try reading the piece repeatedly. as i've said earlier, repetition is the key.\n\na. if it's a SPEECH, try grouping the sentences and memorize two sentences at a time. repeat them over and over, until you got it. then, move to the next two sentences. once you've memorized them, try reciting these sentences in order with the first two. do this until you've finally finished everything.\n\n\nb. for poems, do the same thing for the speech, this time, instead of sentences, take two lines per stanza at a time.
1030213
It is a debated topic.  If you search Google and Wikipedia for terms like "cognition" and "neuropsychology," you will turn up a variety of opinions and research.  But really generally speaking, when you are trying to remember something, they can see different synapses firing more rapidly in your brain...
689783
It would be the hippocampus or frontal lobe, which controls memory.  The mechanism of learned memory is thought to be directly behind the forehead.
671217
in terms of memory capacity and storage, the human brain outperforms even a supercomputer.\n\nhowever, in terms of memory retrieval and information processing, the computer outperforms the human brain...
127460
The brain doesn't store information on ordered cards like a library catalogue. It has an area where the idea of the noun is encoded, with connections to things relating to that noun; an area where the idea of an adjective is encoded, with connections to the areas that relate to the ideas behind that adjective (such as regions in the visual cortex or auditory cortex etc. that relate to the sensory information that forms the basis of the adjective); and connections between the two areas that facilitates the use of a given adjective for a given noun, mediated by connections that control grammatcal structures in language.
680498
Thats a very interesting question, and has been addressed at least to some point-It's clear, though we don't conciously remember events, that we do learn a great deal during this time, thus we "remember' a huge amount- the process of walking, controlling your limbs, facial expressions, on and on and on, are all learned and remembered event from infanthood- What we don't seem to remember are events per se- It appears as if that portion of our learning is developmentally controlled, such that the limbic system filters much of the detail out in infancy- only later, when high-level socialization occurs, does the limbic system start to recognize details and allow them to reach long-term memory. Essentially, the brain and learning are very very tightly developmentally controlled, so that certain things are learned at certain times- biologically, the brain is wired such that the most critical learning, such as how to control the body, how to interact in the most general way with people, etc, are learned first, and everything else is weeded out.  It's probably critical that this occurs, else we would remember being a baby at the expense of not learning how to walk until we were in Junior high!\nJust to address some things that were said before-we have an excellent memory as infants, and learn extremely quickly, but it is wired in a different way- There is also no evidence that events are stored at all, and thus no evidence that any of the infant memories can be "recovered" because they were not laid down to begin with.
1032782
Most people still think of the brain as being like a computer, but this really isn't true.  Where a computer typically consists of a linear calculating device, doing one thing at a time until it reaches its goal, the brain is a "neural network" where multiple things are all going on at once, and each time a particular pathway is taken thru' the network, that pathway can become "reinforced" so that its use becomes more "automatic".  That's how you get to be good at the violin, or at recalling trivia, or remembering people's names and so on.\n\nGo to amazon and search on brain chemistry and neural self, there are some great books.
737842
Quite.  Deja vu is a simple case of the brain storing information in the long term memory AND the short term (or working) memory simultaneously.  \n\nWe have two parts of the brain dedicated to memory: long term and short term memory.  Short term memory lasts for about only 30 seconds, while long term memory can last a lifetime.  Normally, information is first allocated to short term memory and then through association or repetition, it is transfered to long term memory.\n\nBut once and a while, the brain will simultaneously allocate a piece of information to both long and short term memory.  Since it's still in our working memory, it's fresh on our minds, but we also feel like it's something we've experienced a while ago also.  That is because we are also "retreiving" this information from our long term memory even though the thing just happened.
561771
The temporal lobe is associated with perception and recognition of auditory stimuli, memory, and speech.
663028
When you're thinking you're talking to yourself in your head. So obviously its your own voice you hear. If you were thinking of a particular incident(e.g. a date), you recall the visions, sights, smells, sounds and voices. You remember exactly as you stored that information in your brain right?
589194
What happens (so it is thought) is that the alcohol has an effect on the part of the brain which handles the transfer of short-term memories into long-term. You can't remember things that happened because the alcohol stopped your brain from changing those short-term memories to long-term ones.
1183486
The precise biological mechanisms of memory are not fully understood, but most scientists believe that memory results from changes in connections or connection strengths between neurons in the brain. One possible mechanism is long-term potentiation (LTP). Roughly stated, LTP refers to a process whereby if two neurons are usually active together, the connection between them will be strengthened; over time, this means that activity in one neuron will tend to produce activity in the other neuron. \n\nCategories of Memory Systems \n\nPsychologists and memory researchers often divide memory into categories defined by the duration for which the memory is expected to last. \n\nSensory memory refers to the fact that, after experiencing a stimulus, information about that stimulus is briefly held in memory in the exact form it was received, until it can be further processed. Typically, sensory memories may last only a few seconds before decaying -- or being overwritten by new, incoming information. But, while they last, sensory memories contains detailed information: almost like an internal "copy" of the stimulus, in perfect detail. For example, psychologists have assumed that there is a memory area (called a "buffer") where incoming visual information is stored as a picture or icon. This is sometimes called iconic memory. While visual information remains in iconic memory, an individual can answer detailed questions, such as what is the third row of numbers in a numerical display. Psychologists have assumed that there is also an echoic memory for auditory information (stored as an echo) and other buffers for information related to the other senses: taste, smell and touch. \n\nShort-term memory refers to memories which last for a few minutes. Unlike sensory memory, which is stored in the exact form it was experienced, short-term memory has received some processing; thus, "A" is stored not as a visual stimulus, but as an abstract concept of the letter "A". Short-term memory is of limited capacity, usually 5-9 items ("7-plus-or-minus-two"). Beyond this capacity, new information can "bump" out other items from short-term memory. This is one form of forgetting. Objects in short-term memory can be of indefinite complexity: thus short-term memory can hold several numbers, or several words, or several complex concepts simultaneously. Thus, while an individual may only be able to remember seven random digits, it may be possible to remember more digits if they are "chunked" into meaningful objects: thus, "1776-2001-1941" represents twelve separate digits -- well beyond most people's capacity -- but only three easily-remembered chunks. \n\nItems can be maintained indefinitely in short-term memory by rehearsal: e.g. by repeating the information over and over again. An example would be a seven-digit phone number, which is maintained in short-term memory by repetition until the number is dialed, and then fades from short-term memory once the conversation starts. Repetition may also increase the probability that items in short-term memory will enter permanent storage in long-term memory. \n\nIntermediate-term or working memory is sometimes considered a synonym for short-term memory. However, memory researchers often consider this a specialized term referring for information about the current task. Thus, even though a specific phone number may occupy short-term memory, working memory contains the information that lets you remember that you are in the process of phoning the gas company to complain about a recent billing error. \n\nLong-term memory is memory that lasts for years or longer. It contains everything we know about the world, including semantic and factual information as well as autobiographical experience. In general, long-term memory is organized so that it is easy to reach a stored item by a number of routes. For example, the concept "umbrella" may
1084074
Females:\n\nA memory is something that is engraved in the mind of a person that they can recall over a period of time. The more an image appears the longer a person’s memory of it will last. Remembering things from the past also allows one to learn and remember new things. A few things that may cause the loss of memory are injury, disease, or old age.\nMemories are created by many patterns of neuronal connections. An experiment was performed on rats in a lab. The female rats had weaker memories due to fewer nerve connections. When given hormones however, the female rats memories were sharpened.\n\nWomen have a greater ability to associate names with faces than men. They are also better at recalling lists and details of personal experiences. Because women use more of the right side of their brain, which is used to tag memories with emotions, women’s memories can be triggered by emotions. Overlapping neurons trigger many memories with one sense. For example, the smell of cookies may bring back childhood memories.\n\nMales are more likely to lose their memory at a more rapid rate than women due to the fact that their brains shrink three times faster than the female brain
537389
( scientifically speaking )\n\nour current understanding of the brain suggests that it is essentially a process of CHEMICAL and ELECTRICAL reactions. \n\nif thought is to be anything REAL ( and not metaphysical ) , then it MUST have basis in these chemical and electrical reactions.\n\nthe existence of LONG TERM memory is a well documented phenomena in human beings ( and many animals ).\n\nLong term memory must be "stored" intact for it to be retrieved quickly.  Storage means that the information must be present in an organized pattern in an electric or chemical medium.\n\nthere is no scientific evidence that the brain stores "charge" or electricity in an organized way to encode information ( i.e. it is not a capacitor ).\n\nit does however contain chemicals ( i.e. proteins ) and molecules that can be theoretically be altered and manipulated to encode information.\n\ncurrent speculation is that thoughts have a physical basis in the chemical structure of the brain.\n\nto answer your question, \n\nYES, thoughts DO have a SUBSTANCE .