http://spacecollective.org/gamma/6813/Do-robotic-insects-encode-human-memories Wed, 04 Apr 2012 07:08:21 +0000 http://spacecollective.org/gamma/6813/Do-robotic-insects-encode-human-memories en http://spacecollective.org/gamma/6813/Do-robotic-insects-encode-human-memories http://spacecollective.org/gamma/6813/Do-robotic-insects-encode-human-memories Wed, 04 Apr 2012 07:08:21 +0000 gamma 6813 <a href="http://spacecollective.org/gamma">gamma</a> wrote:<br /><br />Memory is attributed to strengthened synaptic connections among particular brain neurons, yet synaptic membrane components are transient, whereas memories can endure. This suggests synaptic information is encoded and ‘hard-wired’ elsewhere, e.g. at molecular levels within the post-synaptic neuron. In long-term potentiation (LTP), a cellular and molecular model for memory, post-synaptic calcium ion (Ca2+) flux activates the hexagonal Ca2+-calmodulin dependent kinase II (CaMKII), a dodacameric holoenzyme containing 2 hexagonal sets of 6 kinase domains. Each kinase domain can either phosphorylate substrate proteins, or not (i.e. encoding one bit). Thus each set of extended CaMKII kinases can potentially encode synaptic Ca2+ information via phosphorylation as ordered arrays of binary ‘bits’. Candidate sites for CaMKII phosphorylation-encoded molecular memory include microtubules (MTs), cylindrical organelles whose surfaces represent a regular lattice with a pattern of hexagonal polymers of the protein tubulin. Using molecular mechanics modeling and electrostatic profiling, we find that spatial dimensions and geometry of the extended CaMKII kinase domains precisely match those of MT hexagonal lattices. This suggests sets of six CaMKII kinase domains phosphorylate hexagonal MT lattice neighborhoods collectively, e.g. conveying synaptic information as ordered arrays of six “bits”, and thus “bytes”, with 64 to 5,281 possible bit states per CaMKII-MT byte. Signaling and encoding in MTs and other cytoskeletal structures offer rapid, robust solid-state information processing which may reflect a general code for MT-based memory and information processing within neurons and other eukaryotic cells.<br /> <br /> &nbsp;<a href="http://www.ploscompbiol.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pcbi.1002421" target="blank">http://www.ploscompbiol.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pcbi.1002421</a>&nbsp; http://spacecollective.org/gamma/6813/Do-robotic-insects-encode-human-memories http://spacecollective.org/gamma/6813/Do-robotic-insects-encode-human-memories http://spacecollective.org/gamma/6813/Do-robotic-insects-encode-human-memories Fri, 15 Apr 2011 07:42:32 +0000 gamma 6813 <a href="http://spacecollective.org/gamma">gamma</a> wrote:<br /><br />When it comes to creating and reading memories, I wonder what is the relationship between the new networks of dendrites and the microtubular memory? Can we expand the memory without creating new dendritic connections or are the dendritic connections the most important structural elements for making new memories and recalling them later? Its the question of scale. Old articles were always repeating how new connections matter for intelligence and everything else. http://spacecollective.org/gamma/6813/Do-robotic-insects-encode-human-memories http://spacecollective.org/gamma/6813/Do-robotic-insects-encode-human-memories http://spacecollective.org/gamma/6813/Do-robotic-insects-encode-human-memories Fri, 15 Apr 2011 07:34:32 +0000 gamma 6813 <a href="http://spacecollective.org/gamma">gamma</a> wrote:<br /><br />Did you know that chimpanzees possess much better photographic memory than people? They can watch a configuration of some sort for a second or two and completely restore it after it is erased for the sake of a banana. (seen on National Geographic)<br /> <br /> I am intrigued by an article in Scientific American about the &quot;default mode neural network&quot;. It says that the perceptual input contains a massive amount of information that is drastically sliced as it progresses towards the higher centers. The consciousness has to path the holes in the world image. The default mode network works and uses a lot of energy when we do not do anything concrete. Scientists suspect that the default mode network is involved in creating the fuller image of reality artificially. So you realize my point - why would we say that the photographic memory does not exist? Given that the reality is a creation, an altered creation also exists. It would be a virtual reality, or one might say a fabricated memory, but it would use massive amount of known data to materialize the world, which would make it a memory...<br /> http://spacecollective.org/gamma/6813/Do-robotic-insects-encode-human-memories http://spacecollective.org/gamma/6813/Do-robotic-insects-encode-human-memories http://spacecollective.org/gamma/6813/Do-robotic-insects-encode-human-memories Thu, 14 Apr 2011 18:23:26 +0000 gamma 6813 <a href="http://spacecollective.org/elysium">elysium</a> wrote:<br /><br />http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/apr/02/joshua-foer-memory-man I'm really curious how this could ultimately fit into the picture http://spacecollective.org/gamma/6813/Do-robotic-insects-encode-human-memories http://spacecollective.org/gamma/6813/Do-robotic-insects-encode-human-memories http://spacecollective.org/gamma/6813/Do-robotic-insects-encode-human-memories Thu, 14 Apr 2011 17:30:26 +0000 gamma 6813 <a href="http://spacecollective.org/elysium">elysium</a> wrote:<br /><br />Amazing! http://spacecollective.org/gamma/6813/Do-robotic-insects-encode-human-memories