# Memory Is Stored by Changing Synaptic Strength by Terrence J. Sejnowski > “Textbooks in neuroscience, including one that I coauthored, say that memories are stored at synapses between neurons in the brain, of which there are many. In neural network models of memory, information can be stored by selectively altering the strengths of the synapses, and "spike-time dependent plasticity" at synapses in the cerebral cortex has been found with these properties. This is a hot area of research, but all we need to know here is that patterns of neural activity can indeed modify a lot of molecular machinery inside a neuron.” > **— Terrence J. Sejnowski**, *2005, Edge Annual Question, “What Do You Believe Is True Even Though You Cannot Prove It?”* ## Sources and Context - **Direct Edge response and surrounding essay:** [Computational Neuroscientist, Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Coauthor, The Computational Brain](https://www.edge.org/response-detail/10451) — Edge published this exact passage in its 2005 Annual Question collection, *WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE IS TRUE EVEN THOUGH YOU CANNOT PROVE IT?*. The response page preserves the surrounding argument and qualifications. - **Complete local collection index:** [[research/Edge 2005 Full Quotation Curation|Edge 2005 Full Quotation Curation]] — retained source-first record for the complete response cohort and this passage's promotion status. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Edge|Edge]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Machine Succession|Machine Succession]] - **Article:** [[articles/Modern Artificial Intelligence in the 1970s|AI in the 1970s]] - **Article:** [[articles/Christopher Nolan's Odyssey at the Threshold of Machine Succession|Nolan's Odyssey]] - **Article:** [[articles/Cyber-Physical Lessons from Imperial Beekeeping|Cyber-Physical Beekeeping]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/Artificial Intelligence|Artificial Intelligence]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Artificial Intelligence|Artificial Intelligence]] - [[wiki/Machine Learning|Machine Learning]] - [[wiki/Infrastructural Superintelligence|Infrastructural Superintelligence]] - [[wiki/Machine Succession|Machine Succession]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “Textbooks in neuroscience, including one that I coauthored, say that memories are stored at synapses between neurons in the brain, of which there are many. In neural network models of memory, information can be stored by selectively altering the strengths of the synapses, and "spike-time dependent plasticity" at synapses in the cerebral cortex has been found with these properties. This is a hot area of research, but all we need to know here is that patterns of neural activity can indeed modify a lot of molecular machinery inside a neuron.” — Terrence J. Sejnowski, 2005, Edge Annual Question, “What Do You Believe Is True Even Though You Cannot Prove It?” https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-terrence-sejnowski-memory-stored-changing-synaptic-strength ```