Association between Experiences and Representations: Memory, Dreaming, Dementia and Consciousness

TL;DR

This paper proposes a new theory explaining how neural activity governs memory formation, dreaming, and consciousness, linking calcium ion movement to brain health and providing insights into dementia and brain function.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive theory of neural activity that explains memory integration, dreaming functions, and consciousness, with implications for understanding brain health and diseases.

Findings

Memory traces for entities are built through specific neural mechanisms.

Dreaming involves calcium ion transfer from hippocampus to association and primary areas.

High calcium ion levels are linked to Alzheimer's disease.

Abstract

The mechanisms underlying major aspects of the human brain remain a mystery. It is unknown how verbal episodic memory is formed and integrated with sensory episodic memory. There is no consensus on the function and nature of dreaming. Here we present a theory for governing neural activity in the human brain. The theory describes the mechanisms for building memory traces for entities and explains how verbal memory is integrated with sensory memory. We infer that a core function of dreaming is to move charged particles such as calcium ions from the hippocampus to association areas to primary areas. We link a high level of calcium ions concentrations to Alzheimer's disease. We present a more precise definition of consciousness. Our results are a step forward in understanding the function and health of the human brain and provide the public with ways to keep a healthy brain.