multi-faceted memory

schattenfiguren, 2014

i did not post a blog entry on march 22 since i was away on vacation. i was able to experience a wonderful journey through myanmar, cambodia and thailand, which included many human, cultural, geographical and of course photographical highlights.

my website will be available in english starting monday. i would like to welcome all interested english speakers.

multi-faceted memory

when looking at a photo, i can recognize people, a face, places or maybe situations. this requires a memory that allows me to acquire, memorize or retrieve information. that way i can remember experiences or plan my future according to my assessment of previous experiences. one could call that intelligent behavior (depending on the outcome).

the short-term memory memorizes and remembers instantaneously, but only with limited capacity. the long-term memory possesses a high store capacity with more stable memories. these are based on synaptic plasticity.

the long-term memory can again be divided into the declarative, explicit memory, where facts, but also automated actions are memorized (i.e. riding a bike, which is consciously learned at first and then turns into an automated process). this is consequently about relearning and unlearning.

the procedural, implicit memory is about “knowing how to”. emotional reactions (being afraid of an animal) and reflexes (closing your eyes in case of danger) are memorized here. the whole process follows the principle of pavlovian conditioning. this memorization aims at optimizing the chance of survival.

pavlov’s dog experiment works as follows: a bell sounds every time the dogs are fed, and the view of the delicious food naturally makes their mouths water. after some time the bell is rang without food being served – and this still makes the dogs’ mouths water. this means that the dogs show a conditioned reaction to the sound of the bell.

stimuli and information from our environment, but also from our bodies steadily enter our brain through our various senses. this could lead to excessive stimulus of our brain (an epileptic fit can be viewed as such an event). the brain keeps everything in order through the thalamus, the “gate” to the brain and the most important control center, which filters out irrelevant stimuli. that way many neurons remain unstimulated or are even debilitated. as long as i am strongly focusing on something, i am fading out irrelevant things like traffic noise, but i quickly react when someone calls my name.

a single neuron does not “know” anything. it is only groups of simultaneously activated neurons and their pattern formation that gain significance. in the learning process – and life is one big learning process – the involved neutrons group in specialized networks. as soon as one neuron has activated another neuron repeatedly, new contact points are created, which in addition become more sensitive and more stable (!), just as if the system would remember previous stimulation. this is called long-term potentiation (ltp).

the nervous system is very adjustable, adaptive and self organized!

the brain memorizes everything, some consciously, but most of it unconsciously. all our experiences, thoughts and imaginations, but also our actions and their consequences and not least our emotions (saved in the amygdala, part of the limbic system, deep inside the brain) determine our identity. just like we “rate” our past, it influences our view on the present and our actions in the future.

as a reminder: the memory as such does not exist. there are only different systems of processing and memorizing. memory therefore means that neuronal structures are being changed. this is called neuroplasticity of the brain.

sources: christof koch, manfred spitzer, gerhard roth, klaus grawe

the neurochemical foundation of our emotional life

farbentanz, 2011

the photo in blog 9 is called “farbentanz” and was taken in my backyard. once again, i was unable to hold the camera still, despite my usually steady hand. all jokes aside, the picture is a nice result of blurring created by moving the camera when using a low shutter speed.

blog 7 focused on neural networks. in today’s blog, i will talk about the most important transmitters. they form the foundation of our emotional life.

the cell membranes of neurons are stimulated by a random impulse. this nerve impulse wanders along cell processes that are up to one meter long and are called axons, to the synapses, where transport vesicles (small bags) filled with neurotransmitters (i.e. dopamine) are standing by.

the transmitters released through this nerve impulse now stimulate the reception center (dendrites) or the neighboring target cell until it “fires” as well, thus forwarding this signal by means of action potentials (a series of electrical signal impulses) through its axon to the next target cell, thereby stimulation the latter again.

the whole thing is thus an electrochemical form of signal transmission from cell to cell by means of releasing various neurotransmitters. this happens in milliseconds up to seconds. according to recent studies, most neurons develop several transmitters. transmitters are stimulating, but also debilitating. drugs take advantage of this by chemically interfering at these synapses.

neurotransmitters (in the brain): glutamate, important for the learning process and potentially responsible for developing schizophrenia and maybe other diseases.

neuromodulators, which create our consciousness and our mental state:

dopamine, our motor for happiness, desire, satisfaction, rewards and our working memory!

serotonin, for our pleasure system and our emotional life.

noradrenalin, for attention, new stimuli, depression; in combination with adrenalin it is also very important for our stress system in combination with adrenalin.

acetylcholine, for our memory formation.

neuropeptides: opioids - endorphins, morphine created by the body to suppress pain, but also to increase happiness. more than one hundred different types have been discovered so far.

vasopressin, to regulate liquid volume

oxytocin, which generally strengthens relationships, i.e. between mother and child or between partners. sex actually raises the release of oxytocin and therefore leads to closer relationships. additionally, sex strengthens the immune system.

neurohormones: corticotropin-releasing-factor (crf), which produces the hormone acth. this “axis of stress” in turn plays a key role in traumatic events.

many readers might now recall traumatic experiences from school. don’t worry, it’s not necessary to understand the many complex biochemical processes up to the molecular level. i am, however, firmly convinced that it is worth it to loosely memorize the above mentioned terms as they will come up again when attempting to explain feelings, mental state, pleasure through all our senses, problems of stress, learning, conscious and unconscious experience, up to better understanding diseases and the effectiveness of drugs. the more you hear about something – learn it –, the better it will stay in our memory.

our whole life is based on learning processes, real experiences – thus psychological processes – which influence the synapses’ willingness to transmit, in a stimulating as well as a debilitating way. this can and must be recognized and used, particularly also in psychotherapy.

understanding these complex processes in our brain and our body, and the functionality of our subconscious in particular, in combination with the microcosm of quantum physics and epigenetics gives us a new perspective on being human.

sources: gerhard roth, klaus grawe, manfred spitzer

i-pen-photography

mein sonnenschirm, 2006

in today’s blog 8, i’d like to present to you a special, playful and somewhat nutty type of photography.

in 2003, i accidentally discovered a digital camera made by pretec in a catalogue. the camera has a special design and is intended for a target audience with a flair for unordinary commodities, or people with an adventurous play instinct. the camera is packed into and hidden in a ballpoint pen and, since invisible to potential targets of its lens, designed for “secret, spylike” photo techniques. its resolution of 480x640 pixels was already mingy for that time and pretty much inapt to produce a somewhat clear image. the viewfinder is a simple hole that easily fits a toothpick or dental floss. it is absolutely inaccurate and what will eventually be in the picture depends on the angle and distance between your eye and the viewfinder. accordingly, the result was shocking. many pictures were off, the horizon tilted. the “spy gadget” is powered by one aaa battery that lasts for about 50 pictures and forces me to move around as a walking supplier of batteries. to save power, the camera turns itself off after a few seconds. therefore, i often press the release without noticing the camera being out of order and turning it back on with a twisting mechanism takes quite some time. many nice scenes have therefore never been immortalized and now only remain as fugitive energy in the universe.

the first series of images on the monitor was not a pretty view. all images were flat and colorless, soupy like a somber november day. i aggressively changed the hue in photoshop as a result of my frustration, mixed with minor curses. trial and error has always been the mantra of evolution – and voilà, the universe wished to reconcile with me and led me on the right path: phoenix rose from the soupy image and suddenly, images with colorful pixel squares (almost resembling the works of paul klee) arose, magically adding a touch of a painting. this phenomenon is particularly impressive in pictures magnified to 60 centimetres or more.

now the spell was broken, the cheers could not be overheard and i was unstoppable. i already had to make sure that the pen did not melt or even grow together with my right eye.

selbstporträt i-pen, 2011

the appearance of this not so young man with a pen before his right eye and the encounter with this photo alien often surprises bystanders, making them somewhat insecure about their perception. amazement, pitiful shaking of heads, but also curious inquiries are the most frequent reactions. i can barely count the number of dropped jaws anymore and i still find them delighting, even though i have seen my fair share of open mouths in my previous profession. the great attention that is drawn to this photo gadget and the person behind it naturally leaves little room for secretive spy activity.

unfortunately, but also somewhat understandably, the manufacturing of this photographing pen was shut down. a version without a viewfinder that makes videos is still available. however, this makes capturing a motif even a bit more difficult.

maybe pretec will realize the great potential of this pen due to the pictures in this blog and begin mass production.

the photo to blog 8 „mein kleiner sonnenschirm“ is part of a beach series i created in calabria in 2004. the full series is available on this website under the tab i-pen-photos. the picture “la mama am strand” beautifully represents la italianità. the scenery was exhilarating and not only perfectly played, but also intoned in a stunning way.

the images on page 21, 44 and 63 of my book as well as the picture in blog 4 were shot with the i-pen camera.

brain and knowledge

wissenmachtschaft, 2006

the photo in blog 7 shows the facade of the swiss federal parliament building that is fenced with barbed wire. the title is also a wordplay.

writing about creativity in blog 6, i brought up many terms such as dopamine, emotion, intuition, reward system, luck, limbic system, “unconscious emotional center”, stress and learning.

seeing, sensing photographies and experiencing art is linked to processes in the brain. this inevitably calls upon us to learn more about these processes and to understand them.

as i announced in previous blogs, with each new blog i’m going to go deeper into the matter of brain, consciousness, unconsciousness and with that quantum physics.

our brain only weighs 1.4 kilograms, but it is our most complex organ with wisdom from 500 million years of evolution. it is always turned on, regulating and managing all of our bodily functions.

the brain consists of two halves (hemispheres) that are connected by the corpus callosum. it was believed that each hemisphere had its specific functions. however, recent research methods have shown both halves exchanging and complementing information, therefore working together. this leads to increased brain performance.

take music for an example, where the left half processes sound elements and the right half the “melody”. this results in music. details of a photograph are seen on the left, the whole image on the right.

we hence need to dissociate from the perception that logic originates from the left and emotion/creativity from the right. humans feel, think and act holistically through both hemispheres interchanging information.

the brain contains about 100 billion neurons (nerve cells, comparable to the number of stars on the milky way).

a neuron is a complex chemical plant, a microcosm. every nucleus of these neurons contains all 35’000 genes of the individual. each neuron is a specialist in a specific place, but always working in groups.

each neuron is connected to other neurons through up to 10,000 synapses. there are 60 trillion of these contact points = synapses in the cortex. it is on these synaptical clefts where the chemical transfer through neurotransmitters and neuromodulators takes place (e.g. with aid of the messenger dopamine as mentioned in the last blog).

new neurons and synapses are created during our whole life. they interconnect with each other. this process is called neuroplasticity and is very important for the learning process. decreased brain performance has nothing to do with age, but depends on training!

our experiencing, learning, behaving and with that our consciousness and our identity are based on this interconnectedness of neurons and their excitation patterns.

neurons are the atoms of perception and lead to consciousness and knowledge.

does knowledge create more power? how powerful is science? who leads and guides science, particularly on ethical paths?

sources: christof koch, norbert herschkowitz, klaus grawe