The basis of memory / by W.R. Bousfield.

  • William Robert Bousfield
Date:
1928
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: The basis of memory / by W.R. Bousfield. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    132/140 page 128
    but they are mere relays between the material sense organs and the psychic organization. The storage of experience takes place not in these relaying cells but in the psychic structure where these sensory impressions are integrated and idealized. Let us recapitulate some of the points where the first hypothesis fails whilst the second succeeds in elucidating the phenomena. The first point is, that if engrams of a permanent character are impressed in “ irritable substance ” by sensations to form the basis of memory, these engrams should correspond to the sensations. Thus if we receive an auditory engram containing the word “ Generalissimo ”, it should not when ecphorised give us instead the word “ Commander-in-Chief On the mechanical theory this seems incontestable. Yet what often happens is that our normal memory is of ideas expressed in other than the original words. Again, the engram theory fails to account for the role of meaning. The
    digitised image 1
    digitised image 2
    digitised image 3