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Hey there!
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Welcome to Life Noggin.
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Hey guys, the subscribe button is not supposed to do that!
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Who could forget their first time biting into a pizza bagel?
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The taste of that delicious morsel will stay in my memory forever.
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But what will happen to that memory after I die?
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It may help to first understand what memories are.
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Your brain contains around 100 billion neurons that communicate with each other across gaps
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called synapses using proteins and chemicals called neurotransmitters. A memory is formed
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when certain proteins, like AKT and CaMKII, strengthen the synaptic connections.
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The formation of long-term memories takes time and occurs over stages - a process known
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as memory consolidation.
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Once complete, the neurons involved in the original experience become a fixed combination
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to help you remember the entire event - from sound to taste.
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But over time, memories can alter or fade.
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Scientists have found that memories are malleable and can change during recall or from outside
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suggestion. And as we age, certain types of memories, like the association between
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two things or the recollection of specific details, diminish. Researchers think this
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may be due to the fact that the hippocampus shrinks as we age, which is the region of
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the brain that stores these types of memories.
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Compared to other organs, your brain requires much more energy to function.
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That is why it is the first organ to fail or become irreversibly injured when the heart
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stops pumping, such as during cardiac arrest.
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The first part of the brain to go is the hippocampus, which plays a big role in memory storage.
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If heart function isn't restored, the entire brain will shut down in just 4 or 5 minutes.
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But just 3 minutes without blood flow leads to brain injury that will progressively get
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worse and eventually become irreversible even if the person is resuscitated or brought back to life.
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That is why many survivors of cardiac arrest suffer from memory loss even years after the
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event.
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In a 2009 study of cardiac arrest survivors treated with hypothermia to protect brain
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function, one-third had moderate to severe memory difficulties and nearly half had mildly
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affected long-term memory measured by the Rivermead Behavioural Memory Test.
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But a number of cardiac arrest patients have reported memories of near death experiences
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that occurred after their heart had stopped beating and they were considered clinically
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dead.
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In one study, 40% reported having awareness during this time, and in another, 10% reported
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memories of this period.
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This may be caused by a surge in electrical activity in the brain after death.
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A 2013 study in rats found that within the first 30 seconds after death by induced cardiac
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arrest, they displayed neural patterns similar to a highly aroused brain.
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Though this doesn't necessarily mean the same thing occurs in humans, and many neuroscientists
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believe that near death experiences are born from the stress of the cardiac arrest and
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are memories of the events before death - not after.
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So, most likely, after we die and our brain shuts down for good, our memories will simply
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fade away like a deleted computer file.
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Anyway, I hope my last memories are of all the pizza bagels I've eaten.
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No need to think about bad things!
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Yay!
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So, do you have an earliest memory that you can remember?
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Maybe a favorite memory of yours?
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If you're comfortable with sharing it, let me know in the comment section below!
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Curious to know what would happen if you never forgot anything?
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Check out this video!
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Hyperthymesia is a rare mental state or neurological condition where a person has a very detailed
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autobiographical memory.
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Basically, they remember a lot about their past!
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As always my name is Blocko!
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This has been Life Noggin!
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Don't forget to keep on thinking.
