Transcript

Memory. How do you define it? How are we even able to store experiences that happen outside of our body somewhere inside our heads, and how is it possible that we can recall and relive those experiences again? These questions have intrigued thinkers and scientists throughout the ages, because this innate ability of remembering is what lets us define our existence. How else would you be able to describe your favorite food, the name of your pet, or the first time you rode a tubular a memory is made up of all the information taken in by our senses, the sights and sounds where we can touch and feel and all sorts of other information is sent to the brain, where large scale connections between different brain structures work together to make sense of all the bits and pieces of information. One such important structure is called the hippocampus, located deep within the brain.

The hippocampus plays a crucial role in storing long term memories in a process called consolidation. The hippocampus receives information from many other areas of the brain, and its job is to integrate and organize that information by strengthening connections known as synapses between cells. It does this by using proteins, which are complex molecules that serve a variety of functions.