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The brain is truly a marvel. A seemingly endless library, whose shelves house our most precious memories as well as our lifetime’s knowledge. But is there a point where it reaches capacity? In other words, can the brain be “full”?
The answer is a resounding no, because, well, brains are more sophisticated than that. A study published in Nature Neuroscience earlier this year shows that instead of just crowding in, old information is sometimes pushed out of the brain for new memories to form.
Previous behavioural studies [PDF] have shown that learning new information can lead to forgetting. But in this study, researchers used new neuroimaging techniques to demonstrate for the first time how this effect occurs in the brain.
http://theconversation.com/health-check-can-your-brain-be-full-40844
Original Submission
(Score: 2) by Gravis on Thursday June 04 2015, @11:17PM
Having to boot old, useless memories for new ones certainly suggests a capacity.
here's the thing, your brain doesn't have to boot these old memories! so why do it? actually, it might be for our own good. people with "photographic" (eidetic) memory many times suffer because they literally can't forget bad memories.
from Eidetic Memory on wikipedia:
Possibly because of these extraordinary abilities, certain individuals have difficulties in social interactions with others who have normal memories (only 2 of 55 in the United States have successful marriages), and may additionally suffer from depression stemming from the inability to forget unpleasant memories and experiences from the past.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 05 2015, @06:13AM
Here's the thing: I'd much rather 'suffer' than lose information. The human brain is complete garbage.