Brain Memory Capacity May Be Ten Times Larger Than Previously Thought

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A recent study has advanced our understanding of the brain's memory capacity, revealing that it may store up to ten times more information than previously believed. Traditionally, scientists thought the number of sizes and strengths of synapses and the connections between neurons limited the brain's storage. However, new research challenges this view by demonstrating that synapses can store much more information.

Researchers developed a precise method to measure synaptic strength in the rat brain, focusing on how synapses are crucial for learning and memory and change in strength and information capacity. This study, published in Neural Computation, uses information theory to quantify how much data synapses can handle, factoring in "background noise."

The study found that synapses in the rat hippocampus, an area critical for learning and memory, can store between 4.1 and 4.6 bits of information. This is a significant increase from previous estimates. The researchers examined pairs of synapses in the hippocampus and found that they responded consistently to the same brain signals, indicating a high level of precision in how the brain adjusts synaptic strength.

This improved understanding of synaptic storage capacity could enhance our knowledge of learning processes and how they are affected by ageing or neurological diseases. While the study's findings are based on a small region of the rat brain, they suggest that the brain's capacity for information storage is much greater than once thought. Future research could explore how this capacity varies across different brain regions and between species and how it changes in healthy versus diseased states.