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Costs of memory: ideas and predictions
1Nebraska Behavioral Biology Group, School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588-0118, USA. dukas@niko.unl.edu
Journal of Theoretical Biology
|February 26, 1999
Summary
Animal memory has hidden costs. Maintaining accurate memories requires energy and tissue, increasing body mass and expenditure. Understanding these costs reveals more about cognitive abilities.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Neurobiology
- Physiology
Background:
- Research on animal memory has primarily explored its benefits.
- The implicit assumption of memory costs has not been thoroughly investigated.
- Understanding memory costs is crucial for a complete ecological perspective.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the probable costs associated with maintaining animal memory.
- To integrate insights from molecular biology and physiology into the study of memory costs.
- To highlight the role of redundancy in memory accuracy and its associated expenses.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing knowledge in molecular biology and physiology.
- Conceptual analysis of the maintenance and repair processes in memory.
- Examination of redundancy as a mechanism for memory accuracy.
Main Results:
- Memory maintenance is an active, energy-intensive process involving repair.
- Redundancy, while ensuring accuracy, incurs costs through increased tissue mass and metabolic demands.
- These costs have neurobiological and behavioral implications.
Conclusions:
- The maintenance of accurate animal memory is metabolically expensive.
- Redundancy in neural systems contributes significantly to memory costs.
- Quantifying these costs is essential for understanding the evolution of cognitive abilities.