The Brain, Store house of Memory Part IV

Data stored and retrived from the senses:

The explanation for this lies in the huge variety of messages received by the memory. Every second of the day, we are busy probing our environment though our five senses. From the outer ear to the retina, the tip of the tongue, the mucous membrane inside the nose or the surface of our skin, special sensory perceptions is then linked to a large number of previous experiences. The brain has several ‘libraries’ where impressions from the senses are ordered and stored and it is these that determine our memories. There is a library for images, for taste impressions, colors, words, music, shapes and smells.

Many of our capacities – such as vision touch or smell- are processed in specialized regions of the brain. There are also extended areas of the brain know as areas of association, whose task is to evaluate and associate sensory perceptions. Even if we cannot directly remember our first taste of milk or the first time we saw a dog or cat, new stimulation through similar events is usually enough t refresh our memory. They associative pathways reactivate the formerly activated areas of the brain and enable us ot recall the past.

Advances in medial imaging technology have provided a much more detailed picture of how the brain functions. These advances now permit scientists to connect retain areas of the brain to certain memory tasks, an ability that is especially useful for patients suffering from loss of memory, epilepsy or memory impairments.

(Cont.)