MEDICAL BIOLOGY, HUMAN ANATOMY, PHYSIOLOGY AND PATHOLOGY - Y.I. Fedoniuk 2010

ANATOMY, PHYSIOLOGY, PATHOLOGY

SECTION 10. ANATOMICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF HIGHER NERVOUS (MENTAL) ACTIVITY

FORMS OF MENTAL ACTIVITY

2. MEMORY

Memory is a function of Higher Nervous Activity manifested by the retention of information about a stimulus after its cessation. Based on their manifestations, the following types of memory are distinguished: 1) sensory (iconic/object) memory, which reproduces the image of an object; 2) emotional memory, which occurs when a person experiences specific emotions upon recalling past events or in a similar present situation; 3) logical memory, which elicits reasoning and thoughts. According to the modality of the stimulus, visual, motor, tactile, olfactory, and Other types of memory are distinguished.

Depending on the duration of retention, memory is classified as short-term and long-term. These types operate via different underlying mechanisms. The Mechanism of short-term memory (e.g., remembering a telephone number just spoken) involves the Circulation of nerve impulses through closed loops of neural circuits. Short-term memory can be easily disrupted by strong extraneous stimuli, neurotoxins (alcohol, nicotine), anesthesia, or Hypoxia.

Long-term memory is based on complex processes associated with enhanced Protein Synthesis in the Neurons of the cerebrum. The primary candidates for "memory molecules" are BIOCHEMICAL COMPONENTS OF Nervous Tissue such as Nucleic Acids (DNA and RNA), Proteins, and their complexes with sugars and Lipids. They are involved in encoding vast amounts of information. The Cerebral Cortex serves as the principal site for the long-term storage of information, with the frontal, temporal, and temporoparietal cortical regions playing a direct role in long-term memory.

The memory centers are located in the limbic System of the brain (the hippocampus) and certain thalamic nuclei. The reticular Formation of the Brainstem is also involved in memory processes.