Humans create memories of locations in physical or virtual space as they move around - and it all shows up on brain scans. Researchers tracked brain activity related to spatial memory as volunteers moved about inside a virtual reality setup. Their new study challenges previous scientific thinking by showing that memories are recorded in regular patterns.
Hippocampus, or a small part of the brain that deals with navigation, memory recall and imagining future events. Neurons known as place cells activate in the hippocampus and inform people of where they are as they move around. The researchers used an fMRI scanner to detect blood flow changes in the brain, and study the activity of the place cells as a volunteer controlled movement inside the virtual environment. Earlier studies with rats had also focused on the hippocampus and measured activity at the level of dozens of neurons at most. But that research had suggested that the brain did not record memory in any sort of regular pattern - a trend that this latest study may overturn.
Mind-reading research has grown increasingly sophisticated over the years. Another recent study predicted people preference for one of two drinks with 80 percent accuracy. And earlier findings showed that people brains reflect abnormal activity up to half a minute before making errors.
The latest findings on memory could lead to many more studies that examine how actual memories end up encoded across our brain cells, Maguire said. She and Hassabis want to look beyond spatial memories to see if brain scans can pick up patterns in our memories of the past, as well as visions of the future. Such work could also have clinical implications for understanding diseases that attack memory.
Hippocampus, or a small part of the brain that deals with navigation, memory recall and imagining future events. Neurons known as place cells activate in the hippocampus and inform people of where they are as they move around. The researchers used an fMRI scanner to detect blood flow changes in the brain, and study the activity of the place cells as a volunteer controlled movement inside the virtual environment. Earlier studies with rats had also focused on the hippocampus and measured activity at the level of dozens of neurons at most. But that research had suggested that the brain did not record memory in any sort of regular pattern - a trend that this latest study may overturn.
Mind-reading research has grown increasingly sophisticated over the years. Another recent study predicted people preference for one of two drinks with 80 percent accuracy. And earlier findings showed that people brains reflect abnormal activity up to half a minute before making errors.
The latest findings on memory could lead to many more studies that examine how actual memories end up encoded across our brain cells, Maguire said. She and Hassabis want to look beyond spatial memories to see if brain scans can pick up patterns in our memories of the past, as well as visions of the future. Such work could also have clinical implications for understanding diseases that attack memory.
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