Memory
Memory is the τ-categorical persistence of refined synaptic weight configurations on the neural τ³-computer (VI.D52) — the cumulative output of the learning PPAS (LG-M04). The taxonomy (sensory, working, episodic, semantic, procedural) is not a partition of substances but a stratification by timescale and by which subgraph of the τ³-computer caches the trace: hippocampal one-shot encoding (episodic), cortical generalized cache (semantic), basal-ganglia/cerebellar implicit cache (procedural).
τ-Definition
Memory is the τ-categorical persistence of refined synaptic weight configurations on the neural τ³-computer (VI.D52) — the cumulative output of the learning PPAS (LG-M04). The taxonomy (sensory, working, episodic, semantic, procedural) is not a partition of substances but a stratification by timescale and by which subgraph of the τ³-computer caches the trace: hippocampal one-shot encoding (episodic), cortical generalized cache (semantic), basal-ganglia/cerebellar implicit cache (procedural).
Categorical invariant. Functor M_τ : (𝕋, learning_history) ⟼ W(𝕋), assigning to each timescale slice 𝕋 the weight configuration that survives consolidation. Stratified by retention horizon and by the integrative subgraph of VI.D52 that stabilizes the trace; declarative memories require the hippocampus as encoder, with cortex as eventual cache (standard model: McClelland–McNaughton–O'Reilly 1995).
Primary registry anchor:
VI.D52
τ-Derivation Chain
-
I.K0— Universe Postulate -
VI.D15— Life Sector -
VI.D52— Neural Architecture as τ³ Computer — provides the substrate -
VI.D50— PPAS Algorithm on Fitness Landscapes — generates the trace -
VI.P19— Sleep as Temporal Lemniscate Second Lobe — provides the consolidation phase -
VI.D90— Sleep Repair Function — REM/NREM substrate for hippocampus-to-cortex replay -
VI.T53— Sleep Consolidates Levels 1–2 — anchors the consolidation morphism in formal repair theorem
Empirical Correlate
Biomarker: Sensory: iconic memory <1 s (Sperling 1960). Working: 4±1 chunks (revised Miller), prefrontal sustained firing 5–60 s. Episodic: hippocampus-dependent, indexed by place/grid cells (O'Keefe 1971; Moser 2005). Semantic: distributed neocortical, hippocampus-independent after consolidation. Procedural: basal ganglia + cerebellum, expressed through performance not recall.
Measurable range: Working memory capacity: 4±1 items; prefrontal delay-period firing 5–60 s. Long-term episodic: lifetime persistence with hippocampal-to-cortical transfer over weeks–years. Total long-term storage: ≥ 10¹⁵ bits estimated from synapse count × dynamic range. Recall accuracy declines with retention interval (Ebbinghaus forgetting curve) but is partially rescued by sleep within the first 24 h.
Observation method: Behavioral: free recall, recognition, paired-associate, n-back, autobiographical interview. Imaging: fMRI of hippocampus during encoding/retrieval, MTL volumetry, MEG of memory reactivation. Lesion: patient H.M. (bilateral hippocampectomy) — anterograde amnesia confirming hippocampal necessity for new declarative memory. Sleep-dependent consolidation: paired-associate recall after sleep > after equal-duration wake (Plihal–Born paradigm).
Calibration anchor: LG-Y02-kinetic-pseudoscalar-channel
Anchor chain:
- VI.L18 chirality channel
- L-glutamate / D-serine NMDA gating at hippocampal CA3-CA1 encoding synapse
- L-handed kinase cascades (CaMKII, PKA) that stabilize the trace
Manuscript reference: manuscript-sources/book-06/part06/ch41-learning-sleep.tex
Lean Coverage
Status: Planned