Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-25
IMAGES OF MEMORY
HELD ELECTRICAL
Cleveland Scientist Tells of
Seeing Deposits Being
Made in Brain.
BY HOWARD w. BLAKESLEE,
Associated Press Science Editor.


PHILADELPHIA. April 25.-Discov
cries that the images Of memory prob
ably are electrical deposits in the brair
were reported to the American Philo.
sophical Society today.
They were described by DR.. g. w
Grille of Cleveland, who told of actually
seeing the deposits being made.
They are produced by the tiniest Of
electrical currents passing along the
nerves and engraving in the brain per-
manent patternS-n1emories- which are
never lost. The connections may be-
come DISTRACTED and ability of recall
impaired.
He cited experiments showing that
nerves carry electrochemical impulses as
wires conduct electricity. He pictured
the nervous system with an infinite
number of "receptorS," receiving sta
tons, Transforming sense impressions
into electrical impulses and sending
them into the "innumerable microscop-
ically visible fibers of white matter" OF
the brain.
Light Causes Energy to Travel.
Many observers, he said, have found
that light falling upon the eye causes
nerve This he compared to the new
electric eye," the photoelectric cell, in
which potassium may be used to obtain
the photoelectric effect. This same po-
tassium is abundant, he said, in certain
Of the eye nerves, and could operate
somewhat the same.
I'VE know what material the mechan-
ism that holds the memory image must
be-" he went on, 'for the brain consists
Of water. various compounds OF potas-
SUM, sodium, PHOSPHORUS, calcium,
magnesium and group of highly spe-
cialized fats. In other words, the brain
consists Of conductors and inSulators.
Cells Exist at Birth.
"All the billions Of brain cells are in
existence at birth, for no new brain cells
are added after birth. But few of the
fibers exist at birth and there is then
little memory"
He explained the chemicals of these
fibers which are potassium and other
substances, and the electrically conduct
ing fluids about them. He said an cleo
trical impulse coming into the brain
would tend to set loose some potassium
and working with PHOSPHORUS and
other substances would create a brain
fiber.
'Thus," he said, I'VE postulate that
the nerve cells secrete nerve fiber. When
another like impact upon the same sense
organ occurs the same fibers (neuro-
fibrillae) would be stimulated and the
pathway intensified thus recreating the
original image-creating memory.
"These infinite pathways thus Gre
ated intercommunicate, allowing in
finite numbers of associations, thus
making possible the processes Of thought
and reasoning"
Amplifying Nerve Impulses.
A method of picking up the electrical
impulses of a nerve and simplifying
them so that they are audible in loud
speaker was described by DR.. Detlev w.
Bronx of the University of Pennsylvania.
These impulses, called fchange in cleo
trio potential" occur at rates varying
from to $50 a second. A strong i'm
pulse causes a muscle to contract, but a
weak one results only in muscular
twitching.
A new control found in sulphur COM
pounds for growth by multiplication of
cells was reported by DR.. Frederick S.
Hammett, director of research of the
Research Institute of Lanenau Hospital,
Philadelphia. In one case, he said, it
had caused cancer on mouse to dis
appear.