Molecular Memory

Here's a little something I'm working on for the Bible Song Sunday School manual.

In order to truly understand the basis of memory and design
teaching tools to maximize long-term retention, let’s take a look at
memory on the molecular, cellular, then structural levels.
1. Molecular Memory
Picture a wall with a gate. The gate is locked with a magnesium lock. Unless you
have at least two keys, the locks aren’t going to open. That’s how memory works
on a molecular level. A spaghetti-like protein responsible for long-term memory
called the calmoldulin is the gate keeper. This structure can’t and won’t open the
lock unless there are at least two simultaneous stimuli knocking on its door. (It
actually looks like a little gate in your nerve cell!) Technically speaking, if you don’t
provide at least two stimuli, the calmoldulin won’t unlock the magnesium lock and
release the calcium ions that create the long-term potentiation that forms a
memory. (Okay, that’s more than you wanted to know.) Suffice it to say, you’ve
got to open the molecular gates with at least two keys for long-term memory to
occur on a molecular level. Knocking lightly on the cell door with only one
stimulus won’t do the trick. Keep that thought in mind as we move from the
molecular to the cellular basis of memory tomorrow.