Immune memory, immune oblivion: a lesson from Funes the memorious.
We commonly think of the immune system as having a memory. However, memory is always accompanied by a complementary process of oblivion. Is there immune oblivion? In this theoretical paper, I address this question and suggest that oblivion is an integral aspect of memorization. In this context, I suggest that immune memory is an orchestration of reversible and irreversible processes of biological computation through feedback loops. Drawing on the linguistic metaphor, I inquire into the implications of this idea for a better understanding of immune memory and immune deficiency among the elderly.
Neuman
Yair
Y
Office for Interdisciplinary Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel. yneuman@bgu.ac.il
D000375:Aging / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007107:Immune System / Q000276:immunology* / Q000502:physiology; D008037:Linguistics; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D019365:Metaphor; D008959:Models, Neurological