Engrams: The Marks Of Experience In Our Brain
Engrams are the traces in the brain that each of our experiences leaves us. This process where small neural structures are formed after a certain sensation, a significant event or an emotion impossible to forget, had already been defined by Hinduism: it was about the Samskaras , imprints of a memory of the one who learns.
Although no one today doubts the existence of engrams, the mechanism by which these imprints are formed remains a mystery. We know, for example, that when we have an experience with high emotional tension, we immediately generate a stable neural interconnecting structure that will later influence all of our mental functioning: thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. Something unquestionably fascinating.
However, how this “neural imprint” will determine our behavior is something that no one can predict. Therefore, and given this subtle mechanism of action, some see engrams as a kind of brain “chips”; in other words, like recordings in “our hard drive” causing us to react in a certain way.
It could be they who articulate many of our fears, they who cause us to react in such a way to certain stimuli – from, for example, a series of engrams that were formed during our childhood. We are talking about an interesting topic that deserves to be explored further.
Engrams or imprints of our experiences
We mentioned the term Samskara in the introduction. In this philosophical context, the Hindus resorted to a term allowing to take up this common phenomenon. We sometimes act in a singular way when faced with certain events, almost without knowing why. In this spiritual stream, the Samskara are interpreted as the codes of “karma”, as imprints of a memory which is integrated into both our body and our mind.
It is also curious to see that in different scientific disciplines, such as neuroscience, this idea has an almost parallel history. Let’s see an example: Ana is 5 years old and is learning to ride a bicycle. At one point, a large dog pounces on her and seriously kills him. Now, 20 years later, Ana still doesn’t dare to ride a bike. She is not afraid of dogs, but has created an engram in her brain where the act of pedaling is associated with fear and pain.
Scientists say engrams are clear proof of how classical conditioning is orchestrated in our brains. In other words, why we sometimes react in a determined way to stimuli which on the surface are quite “neutral”. However, for this to happen, for an engram to form in our brain, there must be an activation of the limbic system, that is, we must feel a particular emotion, revealing … intense (positive or negative).
Engrams and our psychic universes
We now know that much of our psychic life is built on engrams. When we see a rose, for example, we experience a certain pleasure because somehow we anticipate its smell, even if it does not reach us. When we drink a cup of chocolate, it evokes memories of childhood, when we listen to music that is familiar to us, we immediately experience a whole series of sensations of well-being, pleasure and satisfaction.
Engrams shape our consciousness and, like the neural networks that build up as we experiment, are like anchors that define everything we are, what makes us react, vibrate with fear or happiness. … It is organic and electrical matter organized according to our interactions. It is nevertheless difficult for neurologists to shed light on how this “physical-chemical-neuronal” network is set up, to define which synaptic pathways are developed and which types of neurons are involved. ‘organize to form an engram.
It is fascinating for scientists to think that there is some sort of specific nerve cell for this function. They are, to put it that way, organic structures whose only function is to shape a part of our consciousness, to build our psyche, to organize themselves into “micro chips” of memory where reside small pieces of what we are.
Recent studies, such as those conducted by neurologists Michele Pignatelli, Tomás J. Ryan and Susumu Tonegawa, tell us something important. When we are born, our brain is already genetically prepared for the engrams to start activating within seconds of our birth. It is as if each of us had a computer which, by being “turned on”, begins to install its own software .
For this programming to be the most optimal, the most resistant but also agile and effective , it is necessary that our first experiences, those of childhood, are sufficiently stimulating and positive. From then on, our first neural engrams will form energetic foundations, imprints of memories and motivating learning to maximize our development.
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