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How memories are made, and recalled
September 08, 2008UCLA and Israel researchers record single cells as they recall a memory
What makes a memory? Single cells in the brain, for one thing. For the first time, scientists at UCLA and the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel have recorded individual brain cells in the act of calling up a memory, thus revealing where in the brain a specific memory is stored, and how it is able to recreate it.
Reporting in the current edition of the journal Science, Dr. Itzhak Fried, senior author and a UCLA professor of neurosurgery, and colleagues, recorded the activity of hundreds of individual neurons making memories from the brains of 13 epilepsy patients being treated at the UCLA Medical Center. The patients' surgeons had placed electrodes into their brains to locate the origin of their seizures before surgical treatment (standard procedure in such cases).
Fried made use of the same electrodes to record neuron activity as memories were being formed. The patients watched several video clips of short duration-including such things as landmarks and people, along with other clips of Homer Simpson, Jerry Seinfeld, Tom Cruise and others. As the patients watched, the researchers recorded the activity of many neurons in the hippocampus and a nearby region called the entorhinal cortex, that responded strongly to individual clips. A few minutes later, after performing an intervening task, the patients were asked to recall whatever clips came to mind. "They were not prompted to recall any specific clips," said Fried, "but to use 'free recall;' that is, whatever popped into their heads." The researchers found that the same neurons that had responded earlier to a specific clip fired strongly a second or two before the subject reported what he had recalled (but did not fire when other clips were recalled). Ultimately, it was possible for the researchers to know what clips the patients recalled before they even said it.
Fried notes the single neurons that were recorded as they fired were not acting alone, but were part of a much larger memory circuit of hundreds of thousands of cells caught in the act of responding to the clips. The study is significant, he said, because for the first time it confirms that spontaneous memories arise with activity of the very same neurons that were recorded as they fired when the memory was first being made. This link between reactivation of neurons in the hippocampus with conscious recall of past experience has been suspected and theorized for sometime, but the study now provides direct evidence for such link. "In a way then, said Fried, "reliving past experience in our memory is the resurrection of neuronal activity from the past"
University of California - Los Angeles
Fried made use of the same electrodes to record neuron activity as memories were being formed. The patients watched several video clips of short duration-including such things as landmarks and people, along with other clips of Homer Simpson, Jerry Seinfeld, Tom Cruise and others. As the patients watched, the researchers recorded the activity of many neurons in the hippocampus and a nearby region called the entorhinal cortex, that responded strongly to individual clips. A few minutes later, after performing an intervening task, the patients were asked to recall whatever clips came to mind. "They were not prompted to recall any specific clips," said Fried, "but to use 'free recall;' that is, whatever popped into their heads." The researchers found that the same neurons that had responded earlier to a specific clip fired strongly a second or two before the subject reported what he had recalled (but did not fire when other clips were recalled). Ultimately, it was possible for the researchers to know what clips the patients recalled before they even said it.
Fried notes the single neurons that were recorded as they fired were not acting alone, but were part of a much larger memory circuit of hundreds of thousands of cells caught in the act of responding to the clips. The study is significant, he said, because for the first time it confirms that spontaneous memories arise with activity of the very same neurons that were recorded as they fired when the memory was first being made. This link between reactivation of neurons in the hippocampus with conscious recall of past experience has been suspected and theorized for sometime, but the study now provides direct evidence for such link. "In a way then, said Fried, "reliving past experience in our memory is the resurrection of neuronal activity from the past"
University of California - Los Angeles
Memory Current Events and Memory News RSSSurgery not linked to memory problems in older patients
For years, it has been widely assumed that older adults may experience memory loss and other cognitive problems following surgery. But a new study from researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis questions those assumptions.
Mother's Depression a Risk Factor in Childhood Asthma Symptoms, Study Suggests
Asthma symptoms can worsen in children with depressed mothers, according to research from Johns Hopkins Children's Center published online in the Journal of Pediatric Psychology.
New Down syndrome treatment suggested by Stanford/Packard study in mice
At birth, children with Down syndrome aren't developmentally delayed. But as they age, these kids fall behind. Memory deficits inherent in Down syndrome hinder learning, making it hard for the brain to collect experiences needed for normal cognitive development.
Cognitive dysfunction reversed in mouse model of Down syndrome
A study by neuroscientist William C. Mobley, MD, PhD, chair of the Department of Neurosciences at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, and colleagues at Stanford University Medical School has demonstrated a possible new approach to slowing the inevitable progression of cognitive decline found in Down's syndrome.
Saliva proteins change as women age
In a step toward using human saliva to tell whether those stiff joints, memory lapses, and other telltale signs of aging are normal or red flags for disease, scientists are describing how the protein content of women's saliva change with advancing age.
UCLA study shows brain's ability to reorganize
Visually impaired people appear to be fearless, navigating busy sidewalks and crosswalks, safely finding their way using nothing more than a cane as a guide.
New neuroimaging analysis technique identifies impact of Alzheimer's disease gene in healthy brains
Brain imaging can offer a window into risk for diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). A study conducted at the University of Kansas School of Medicine demonstrated that genetic risk is expressed in the brains of even those who are healthy, but carry some risk for AD.
Consumption of certain fish during pregnancy associated with poorer cognitive performance
Children who eat fish more than 3 times per week show a worse performance in the general cognitive, executive and perceptual-manipulative areas.
Does modernization affect children's cognitive development?
Societal and technological changes have taken place at a dizzying pace over recent decades. A new cross-cultural study aimed to determine whether these dramatic changes have had an effect on the thinking skills that are learned over the course of childhood.
Scientists decipher the formation of lasting memories
Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have discovered a mechanism that controls the brain's ability to create lasting memories. In experiments on genetically manipulated mice, they were able to switch on and off the animals' ability to form lasting memories by adding a substance to their drinking water.
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