This paper proposes the Hemocognitive Theory: the hypothesis that blood functions as a distributed information-carrying system capable of encoding, storing, and transmitting molecular signatures associated with experiential memories and conscious events throughout the body. This is a theoretical proposal, not a demonstrated finding. The hypothesis is constructed by synthesising three independently established lines of evidence: (1) the 2024 demonstration that non-neural cells exhibit canonical memory-formation behaviours including the massed-spaced effect¹; (2) the well-characterised role of extracellular vesicles (EVs) as intercellular signalling carriers that cross the blood-brain barrier bidirectionally²•³; and (3) emerging evidence from organ transplant studies suggesting that cellular memory may persist in transplanted tissue⁴•⁵. The central proposition is that conscious experiences produce specific molecular modifications in brain-derived extracellular vesicles, which enter systemic circulation and may be detectable through advanced molecular analysis. Four testable predictions are outlined, along with a phased experimental validation framework. Significant limitations and the speculative nature of this hypothesis are explicitly acknowledged throughout.
Joseph Tekper Dugbatey Narnor (Wed,) studied this question.