Hidden Signs Of The Brain Showcasing Working Memory

Published online by Science magazine on June 14, the study addressed working memory, the temporary activation of brain cells that occurs when it comes to a new neighborhood, for example, and we remember our path later that day.

Directed by researchers from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of New York (NYU, for its acronym in English), a new study says that the signals created by brain cells (neurons), called acute wave waves, are longer in the tens of milliseconds and capture more information when an animal is learning about a new place that is in a familiar environment.

When the research team artificially duplicates the length of the signals involved in memory recall of the best route through a maze, it is found that rats with extended waves were 10-15 percent to find a sugary reward than the rats without the manipulation.

György Buzsáki, MD, PhD, Professor Biggs in the Department of Neuroscience and Physiology at New York University School of Medicine says that after publishing the study, they finally understood the brains of the mammals well enough to alter some of the mechanisms so that they can guide the design of future treatments for diseases that have memory.

The results of the study revolve around nerve cells, which "trigger", or cause sudden changes in the balance of their positive and negative charges, to transmit electrical signals that coordinate the memories. Buzsáki's team discovered in recent years that sets of neurons shoot in milliseconds each other in rhythmic cycles, creating closely connected signal sequences that can encode complex information.

The repetition and combination of fragments of information learned is a part of the process that integrates the memory of an animal.

In the current study, the team designed experiments so that the correct route for obtaining water alternates between the left and right arms of a maze each time a rat is placed on it. To obtain the reward, the rats used their working memory, the record in the address that was made in the previous trial and the correct form of the next time.

Studies conducted in recent years in many laboratories have established that the "cells of place" of the hippocampul encode each room, or each arm of a labyrinth, when they enter, and then re-shoot when rats or humans remember to go there, or plan Go back there. The authors of the study recorded the activation of the cells of the place when the memory task was performed in the labyrinth and predicted the route taken as seen in the activation sequence of the cell captured in each wave of acute wave.

To artificially duplicate the duration of the undulations produced by the brain cells of the rat during task-oriented navigation, the elements of the hippocampus cells were designed to include light-sensitive channels. The bright light through the tiny glass fibers activated the neurons, adding more neurons to the natural sequence, thus encoding more details of the representation of the labyrinth.

It is important to note that the study also shows that extended waves allow slower activating neurons to be recruited in their sequences. Previous studies by the authors that these neurons are the best to change their properties (more plastic).

 

In contrast, the faster firing partners in a ripple tended to initiate the sequence independently on the path the rat took. Buzsáki's team has been building the case of the "rigid" neuron tales that are generalized in the experiences, codifying the familiar aspects.

By: Preeti Narula

Content: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/06/190613143539.htm