Brain language vs inheritance language?
Sources:
In an episode of the , discussed the distinction between how the brain stores information (brain language) and how heritable information is stored (inheritance language) with researcher Oded Rechavi. The brain stores information in synapses, which are the connections between neurons. Learning changes the strength of these connections, effectively wiring the nervous system differently. Conversely, heritable information must be molecular, as it is passed through the fertilized egg, which lacks connections to other cells 1.
Rechavi pointed out that to inherit learned information, there would have to be a way to translate synaptic information into a molecular form within a single cell. However, there is currently no known mechanism for this translation. Moreover, genetic information is not guaranteed to be expressed in the same way due to variations in brain wiring even among genetically identical individuals, such as twins. This means that purely synaptic memories, like a remembered phone number, are highly unlikely to be inherited 2.