Humans Have a Distributed, Molecular Long-Term Memory

摘要

Most memory research has assumed that our long-term memories are somehow retained in our brain, usually by modified synaptic connections. This paper proposes a very different scenario, in which the basic substrate of these memories are molecules which flow within a newly discovered circulatory system similar to our lymph system. Moreover, the information bearing molecules are postulated to be cyclic protein polymers similar to the proteins found in all cell membranes. Two network algorithms are presented which convert networks to, and from, such cyclic structures and seem to mimic the psychological processes of consolidation, recall, and reconsolidation.