Unexplained Mysteries – Memory Mysteries

Although advances in science have provided information that leads to worthwhile debate and insights into the human brain’s memory capabilities, much of the brain’s processing functions still remain an unexplained mystery. In the past, some scientific researchers reported that the human memory reconstructs and processes events from bits of information stored in various parts of the brain. However, through further research, scientists now suggest that memory occurs throughout the whole nervous system with every thought being felt throughout the human body. The memory circulates through the brain cells via neurons that communicate through electro-chemical pathways creating electrical impulses.

For decades, the idea that most humans used only 10% of their brain has been disputed and hasn’t been supported with any scientific evidence. The processes of memory and its ability to retain and recall personal information, experiences, skills and habits has been defined by the scientific community, but scientists don’t know how it works and they haven’t been able to establish a model for the actual mechanics of memory. Professor Nathaniel Kleitman, a physiologist with the University of Chicago, conducted numerous projects in sleep research and he found that dreams were hard to remember when awake because the higher centres of the brain were deactivated or working at a slower pace during sleep.

Kleitman used placebos during some of his research, trying to determine why the brain and human body accepts a placebo with no medical qualities, and couldn’t understand how the brain and body accepted the make-believe medicine and mysteriously contributed to a patient’s recovery.

The current dilemma facing doctors and scientists, especially in the aging population, is determining when, why, and by how much memories will fade. Many researchers are puzzled by these memory changes and now can only offer theories such as maintaining a proper diet, exercise and living as normal a life as possible. Others suggest that depression and stress can bring on memory dysfunction, and it’s suspected that people not engaging in regular mental stimulation could be a risk factor, which gave rise to the popular adage, “use it or lose it”.

The pathophysiology of memory loss remains a mystery and, although it appears to be a normal process within an aging community, there are other younger people who have been affected at an early age. There has been research carried out on possible future remedies, with some theorising that therapies might involve the repair of faulty nerve cells that could lead to the regeneration of new neurons, the building blocks of memory. If the theory is correct and research is successful, then it might contribute to reversing the aging process and, as a result, people might start living longer. However, scientists don’t know what causes neurons to die, the principal reason for memory loss, and have suggested that the overproduction of the protein Amyloid might be the cause when it attaches itself to cell walls interfering with the brain’s electrical impulses. However, until scientists can fully understand the brain’s processes, memory power will remain a mystery.