Most all of us ignore or take for granted just how marvelous our brain is and what all is involved with respect to how it works. Each of us is exposed to an avalanche of sensory data from the outside world every day. The process of how we take it in, process and store it, or just plain ignore it all is quite intriguing. All of what I have researched and read however (though admittedly as an educated layman) seems to distill down to the following six steps.
1. Sensory Experience
Where am I? What am I looking at? What did I just hear? What does this cheesecake taste like?
What does the texture on that beautiful blouse feel like? Through our sensory organs of eyesight, touching, smelling and hearing electrochemical impulses are transmitted from our eyes, nose, ears or skin inwards and up into our brains’ neuron cell wired network.
2. The Process of Encoding
A software language that the inner brain understands and can work with. The registering and encoding of all sensory experiences occurs primarily within our Hippocampus. This specialized area lies within the core area of the brain which is also called the Limbic System. It is there that the experience is transformed into what will become usable memory data. Virtually all short term memory experiences are processed and encoded within the Hippocampus first.
Since a disease such as Alzheimer’s begins it’s tornado path of destruction within the Hippocampus in it’s early stage, the first noticeable thing that a family member witnesses is the inability of their loved one to form and hold onto short term memories anymore.
3. Storage and Comprehension
Once registered and encoded, memory data is then dispatched off along the circuitry paths to one of the brains’ nine memory storage centers. These storage centers are located in the Thalamus, Parietal lobe, Caudate nucleus, Mamillary body, Frontal lobe, Putamen, Amygdala, Temporal lobe and Cerebellum. Lots of within the brain file cabinets or data bank storage zones.
Recent neural research suggests that the actual electrochemical memory data is actually retained close to or within the neuron cell circuit paths themselves rather than actually being transmitted and deposited farther out and deeper into the tissue of these specialized areas.
Kind of like thousands of complete trains parked in their railroad yards with all of their cargo and freight kept stored within or close to those freight cars. The freight is thus ready to move, ship and access faster instead of retrieval from far flung warehouses and businesses, loaded back onto the trains, then shipped back to that junction in the brain where they are recalled as a memory.
4. Understanding
Toss the new stuff into your Cuisinart along with the old stuff that is already there then hit the blend mode switch. The process that we call understanding results after what you have just experienced is compared to and synthesized with what we already know or can recall. An integration of the new experience with the body of stored memories we already possess.
5. Evaluation of data
Pour the simmering pasta from the pot into the colander. Unwanted liquid drains away leaving just the good stuff behind. The brain sifts through all of the information at it’s disposal before determining what choices are to be made.
6. Making a choice
Eeenee meenee mynee moe. Toss out eenee, meenee and mynee. Sucky choices. You went with moe. A decision is made based upon the best choice of options followed by an action step putting the choice into motion.
All of these steps can and do occur within a few hundredths of a second of time. Nerve conduction speed within and between the neurons has been clocked up to 330 ft. per second. Hyper speed within a 3-1/4 lb. soft supercomputer!
Six major steps that we don’t even think about or dwell upon for most of our lives.
The stunning marvel that our brain is and how it operates rarely receives the attention it deserves from it’s OEO (original equipment owner). Maybe a little more gratitude is in order here for those of us who still own a healthy operating brain and not one ravaged by disease, chemical addiction, or environmental poisoning.
Take care of the one you came with. No refunds or exchanges here.
Jeff Dodson
June 1st 2011
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