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Comment by JBeiswenger on [LINK] MIT discovers the location of memories: Individual neurons · 2012-10-21T21:03:09.578Z · LW · GW

Thank you, Nancy. John

Comment by JBeiswenger on [LINK] MIT discovers the location of memories: Individual neurons · 2012-10-21T15:04:22.729Z · LW · GW

What MIT researchers MAY have demonstrated is that by "triggerering" a group of neurons (neural network) one causes the recall of a percept or series of percepts from an atemporal repository of memory, not from the group of neurons. Think of the complexity and depth of a memory you can recall from childhood and the speed with which you recall it. To say that the memory is stored in the neural network (or worse, a single neuron) is just silly. The recalled memory causes the individual to re-experience the image/event through the same neural network that forwarded the memory to the atemporal depository. Remove that neural network and you will not be able to recall and therefore re-experience the memory. Since it is totally impossible to store a memory or even a single percept in a neural network, what the MIT researchers MAY have demonstrated is the relationship and function of neural networks in the brain relative to the true repository of memory (capable of such storage and speed of recall) the atemporal component of all cells. See also, The Truly Astonishing Hypothesis at http://www.astonishinghypothesis.com/author/hypothesis.htm.