After providing all the funding for The Brain from Top to Bottom for over 10 years, the CIHR Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction informed us that because of budget cuts, they were going to be forced to stop sponsoring us as of March 31st, 2013.

We have approached a number of organizations, all of which have recognized the value of our work. But we have not managed to find the funding we need. We must therefore ask our readers for donations so that we can continue updating and adding new content to The Brain from Top to Bottom web site and blog.

Please, rest assured that we are doing our utmost to continue our mission of providing the general public with the best possible information about the brain and neuroscience in the original spirit of the Internet: the desire to share information free of charge and with no adverstising.

Whether your support is moral, financial, or both, thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

Bruno Dubuc, Patrick Robert, Denis Paquet, and Al Daigen





Tuesday, 15 May 2018
Memory Engrams: The Physical Traces of Memories in Your Brain

In 1923, German biologist Richard Semon proposed the engram theory of memory. According to this theory, when a person experiences something, a set of selected stimuli from this experience activates entire populations of neurons in that person’s brain, thus inducing lasting chemical and physical changes in their connections. These changes are known as the engram. Each of the assemblies of neurons thus selected thereby contributes to the storage of the memory.

As we shall see in a moment, this was a visionary concept, but Semon’s theory was almost completely ignored until the 1970s, when an article by Daniel Schacter, James Eich, and Endel Tulving brought it back into the scientific discussion. (more…)

Memory and the Brain | No comments