If who we are is shaped by what we remember, and if memory is a function of the brain, then synapses—the interfaces through which neurons communicate with each other and the physical structures in which memories are encoded—are the fundamental units of the self …. Synapses are pretty low on the totem pole of how the brain is organized, but I think they’re pretty important …. The self is the sum of the brain’s individual subsystems, each with its own form of “memory,” together with the complex interactions among the subsystems. Without synaptic plasticity—the ability of synapses to alter the
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