this post was submitted on 21 Nov 2024
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Memory is stored in cells throughout the body, not just the brain (www.earth.com)
submitted 3 days ago by HellsBelle@sh.itjust.works to c/science@lemmy.world
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In this study, the scientists simulated the process of spaced learning by examining two types of non-brain human cells — one from nerve tissue and one from kidney tissue — in a laboratory setting.

These cells were exposed to varying patterns of chemical signals, akin to the exposure of brain cells to neurotransmitter patterns when we learn new information.

The intriguing part? These non-brain cells also switched on a “memory gene” – the same gene that brain cells activate when they detect information patterns and reorganize their connections to form memories.

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[–] baldturkeyleg@lemmy.world 6 points 3 days ago (3 children)

So hold on a minute - does this mean there might be some truth to the whole “eat your fallen enemy to gain experience” thing? That’s wild.

[–] originalucifer@moist.catsweat.com 26 points 3 days ago (2 children)

naw. its more like the nerve pathways through the body also have their own node-weighting long before they get to the brain. those are used in process sometimes allowing for memory-like function

its still a generated system that you cant just eat

[–] NocturnalMorning@lemmy.world 12 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Are you sure I can't eat it? We should test this... for science.

[–] Libb@jlai.lu 7 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Are you sure I can’t eat it? We should test this… for science.

The question then being: would it still be considered science if it's not eaten raw but cooked and, say, accompanied with some wine?

[–] Endymion_Mallorn@kbin.melroy.org 2 points 3 days ago

Such as a nice chianti?

[–] HellsBelle@sh.itjust.works 2 points 3 days ago (1 children)

And fava beans.

[–] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world -1 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Doesn't count. They have to be slain in honorable battle.

[–] HellsBelle@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 days ago

So being boiled to death doesn't count?

[–] Kowowow@lemmy.ca 3 points 3 days ago

Closer to that whole organ transplant affecting someone's personality I guess

[–] jmiller@lemm.ee 15 points 3 days ago

Eating a dictionary to improve your vocabulary would be equally effective to that theory, and for many of the same reasons. (As far as information transfer is concerned)

[–] rowrowrowyourboat@sh.itjust.works 6 points 3 days ago (1 children)

No, because you're eating the flesh, so you're digesting it.

This is more relevant to organ transplants.

Apparently, it's a known phenomenon that some organ transplant recipients seem to inherit some traits and even memories of organ donors.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38694651/

[–] TherapyGary@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

Wow, these examples are so cool.

Food Preferences:

  • developed aversion to meat after receiving a heart from a vegetarian donor.
  • experienced nausea after meals post-transplant from a donor with irregular eating habits.
  • developed a taste for green peppers and chicken nuggets, foods favored by her donor.

Musical Preferences:

  • began enjoying loud music post-transplant.
  • developed a love for music after receiving a heart from a musician.
  • started appreciating classical music, previously disliked, after transplant.

Sexual Preferences:

  • Male recipient of a heart from a lesbian artist experienced heightened desire toward women.
  • Lesbian recipient of a heterosexual woman's heart found attraction to men.

Other Preferences and Aversions:

  • Landscape artist's heart recipient developed interest in art.
  • Dancer's heart recipient shifted color preferences to cooler tones.
  • Fear of water developed post-transplant from drowning victim.

Memories:

  • describes sudden unusual tastes accompanied by thoughts about their donor's identity and life experiences.
  • feels tactile sensations corresponding to the impact of the car accident that killed their donor.
  • experiencing flashes of light and heat resembling the trauma suffered by their donor, who was shot in the face.
  • describes a vivid dream of reckless driving, mirroring the circumstances of their donor's fatal motorcycle accident.

Some recipients even experience dreams or memories aligning with their donor's identity, such as a woman envisioning a young man named Tim during a dream and later discovering her donor's name as Tim Lamirande

Unfortunately, though, I don't see any mention of how certain they were that the recipients didn't learn these things before experiencing them