Is cellular memory possible? Do you have any personal experience to share?

Question

For those who don't know what cellular memory is:

"Cellular memory is the hypothesis that such things as memories, habits, interests, and tastes may somehow be stored in all the cells of human bodies, i.e. not only in the brain. The suggestion arose following a number of organ transplants in which the recipient was reported to have developed the memories.

An article, "Changes in Heart Transplant Recipients That Parallel the Personalities of Their Donors", published in the Spring 2002 issue of the Journal of Near-Death Studies without peer review, sources or evidence, reported anecdotes in which recipients "inherited" a love for classical music, a change of sexual orientation, changes in diet and vocabulary, and in one case an identification of the donor's murderer."

(above taken from Wikipedia)

Answer 1

Nothing we know of the physiology of the body would even hint that the ability as you described it is possible. Even if there were some undiscovered structure or function in our individual cells that somehow could preserve memories, there would need to be an extensive synaptic network extending from these structures to the brain itself in order for those memories to be made active and available, and nothing like that has ever been seen either.

Answer 2

The article is published in a journal whose purpose it is to promote the belief in something whose only evidence is anecdotal, so it doesn't surprise me this article would be published.  However, all of the anecdotes in the world don't add up to one repeatable and testable empirical fact.

I do not know if there is such a thing as cellular memory.  When you consider what sort of things would be necessary for this to be true, I tend to think this would fall in the "unlikely" category.  It's unlikely the studies this article was based on were blinded.  So, given the source, there is way too much potential for bias here.

Due to its mostly open format Wikipedia may not be the best source for information but, unlike the article in the Journal of Near-Death Studies, it *is* peer reviewed.

Answer 3

Wikipedia is a notoriously inaccurate resource. You should check other resources for information.  I have heard people refer to their own muscles having cellular memory for such things as sports.  They say that the cells remember how to wing a golf club or balance a bike for example.  I do not beleive it is actually the cells of the body that remember but an automatic response that has been learned because of repeated practice.  But that is just my opinion.

Answer 4

Reiki Chick:  You might give it a try sometime with your Reiki.  Instead of a generalized symbol/word focused at the entire target, narrow your intent down to the offending organ and the cells that make it up.  If it seems to get you better results you can go a lot further with it.

A person doesn't get many transplant folk to work on, but the implications of the one give you some hints about possible approaches to things not involving transplantees and the cells/organs.

My personal thought is that if it works better for you it doesn't need a rubber stamp of approval from anyone at all.

Answer 5

Well, there you go - without peer review, sources, or evidence.  If they had any of that stuff, they could have easily gotten it published in a real science journal.  Since they didn't have any evidence, I'd say we can safely dismiss the possibility, since we don't know of any mechanism which would allow cells to remember what kind of food you like.

Answer 6

Reiki...Did you read my question (now in Resolved) about the book "The Heart's Code"? It has to do with transplants. It might have something about this in there. It was on Montel. The author has died..so he wasn't on there. But, there were several people on the show who did show signs of having the memory of the one who donated the organs..no matter what they were. I don't think they're lying. I know a lot of people lie...but I don't believe that everybody except the skeptics lies.