Recent events5/29/2023 ![]() ![]() Each of the 64 items on the test was presented only once to ensure that the targets, but not the foils, were represented by an episodic memory. They rated the words on an 8-point scale, from 1 when they were sure it was new to 8 when they were sure it was old. They then took a word recognition test with 32 targets from the study list and 32 “foils” that weren’t on the list. The patients were first asked to study 32 target words. They can also be used to gather information about how individual brain cells process memories. These tiny electrodes are used to pinpoint seizure-causing brain regions for possible surgical removal. The patients had depth electrodes implanted into several brain structures, including the hippocampus. ![]() The scientists were able to explore the mechanisms of memory at the single-neuron level by studying the brains of 9 patients with severe epilepsy who were being treated at the Barrow Neurological Institute. It appeared online on June 16, 2014, in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Their study was funded in part by NIH’s National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and National Institute on Deafness and Other Communications Disorders (NIDCD). Squire, of the University of California, San Diego, investigated how episodic memories were encoded. Steinmetz of the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Arizona, and Drs. In a sparse distributed scheme, each memory would be coded by the activity of a small proportion of neurons, and each neuron would contribute to a few memories.Ī research team led by Dr. In a fully distributed scheme, each memory would be coded by a pattern of activity across many neurons. In a localist scheme, an individual neuron would code for one memory, and each memory would be linked to the activity of one neuron. Researchers have proposed at least 3 different ways that the brain might encode episodic memories. ![]() But how the brain forms episodic memories-the memories of events-isn’t well understood. Exposure to a particular face or place becomes linked to a small number of neurons in the hippocampus these neurons then fire when the memory is recalled. Much prior memory research has focused on semantic memory-remembering facts, such as famous people and landmarks. The hippocampus plays a critical role in memory. Understanding how the brain stores memories will yield insights into memory problems that come with normal aging and dementia. Memories of recent events may be held by a small number of neurons distributed across the brain’s hippocampus, a new study suggests. ![]()
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