[RightWhale]

specific clusters of neurons with very specific gene expression and proteins are responsible for selected cognitive functions

Indeed they are. Some symptoms of schizophrenia might be due to cross-wiring in the lower brain, whether acute and temporary or slowly developing and permanent. Some people see colors as part of their aesthetic reaction to objects. Read that in an old Smithsonian.

[Nebullis]

My point is that memories are laid down in concrete, cellular processes, but recall or associations are found in synchronous firing of specific neurons.