Can you remember when you heard about 9/11? Chances are you’ll be flooded instantly with memories — not only where you were, but what you were doing, who you were with, what you could smell and see at the time as well as how you felt.
How does that happen? In the first half of this fascinating book, Dr Veronica O’Keane explains the neurological pathways and processes involved in memory. We are constantly receiving stimuli from our environment via the five senses of sight, sound, smell, taste and touch. These sensations travel via cells called neurons which are electrically activated and release various transmitters into the spaces between them and other neurons, which are then taken up and cause that neuron in turn to become stimulated. We are also continually receiving internal stimuli from our bodies — organs such as the gut, heart and lungs. Sensations from our senses enter through sensory neurons in the eye, ear, nose, tongue, skin and mucus membranes, and travel to the relevant part of the cerebral hemispheres in our brain.
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