Re: Does the brain have a capacity?

Re: How does the brain store memory and what is its capacity? 
http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/nov99/941683098.Ns.r.html

Re: Is there a limit to how much we can learn?  
http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/aug97/866474054.Ns.r.html

Hi.
The two responses above should partially answer your question, Gagnon.
Basically, the more you use a piece of information and the more details 
you know about something, the more likely you are to remember it.  But 
sometimes you may recall an emotional event that happened to you in 
childhood and that's because a structure in the brain, called the amygdala,
facilitates the storage of such memories.  It's not clear where the brain 
stores the memories but the hippocampus seems to play an important role in 
storing memories, especially spatial memories.
In response to your last questions, I should mention that recent evidence 
suggests that some neurons do divide in the brain of an adult.  This is a 
hot area of research and if scientists learn how to force the process, we 
may be close to curing Alzheimer's and other similar diseases.
You should also check out the following responses.

Re: Can a person listen to music and study at the same time? 
http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/mar98/889467626.Ns.r.html

Re: Does music affect short term memory?  
http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/dec97/876784966.Ot.r.html

And lastly here's the link to my site where you can visit Pubmed for 
medical articles or write your opinion on my discussion board.
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Troy/7063

Arash E.
Cellular Biology and Genetics (minor in psychology)
UBC