Synaptic and extrasynaptic traces of long-term memory: the ID molecule theory

What is it about?

It is argued that the myriad fragments of DNA molecules found in brain cells are not waste products, as is often assumed, but are the carriers of our long-term memories.

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Why is it important?

The memory capacity of humans is many orders of magnitude greater that can be explained in terms of the usual hypothesis that all memories are carried by the synaptic connections between neurons. The tricks proposed in this paper, which utilize a molecular backup mechanism, are concrete enough to be testable, thanks to the recently developed techniques of molecular biology and whole-cell electrophysiology -- although the tests are not expected to be easy.