冬眠颠覆我们对大脑存储记忆方式的理解

OUR memories may persist even when half of the brain connections that store them are wiped out, according to a study done in mice. “Memories may be harder to break than we thought,” says Steve Ramirez at Boston University, who wasn’t involved in the study. When we experience a stimulus, neurons in our sensory organs, like our eyes, transmit electrical signals to our brain. Neurons then process this information by firing electrical signals to each other via junctions called synapses. These neurons, called engram neurons, encode information into a memory by forming new synapses and strengthening existing ones. Recalling a memory further bolsters these connections and, in turn, our memory. …