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SNIPPETS - Neurons change as memories form

Last Updated 03 August 2015, 18:38 IST

Learning can be traced back to individual neurons in the brain, according to a new study. “What we wanted to do was see if we could actually create a new association — a memory — and see if we would be able to see actual change in the neurons,” said Matias Ison, a neuroscientist at the University of Leicester in England and one of the study’s authors.

He and his colleagues were able to monitor the brain activity of neurosurgical patients at UCLA Medical Center. The patients already had electrodes implanted in their medial temporal lobes for clinical reasons. The patients were first presented with images of notable people — like Jennifer Aniston, Clint Eastwood and Halle Berry. Then, they were shown  images of the same people against different backdrops — like the Eiffel Tower, the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the Sydney Opera House.

The same neurons that fired for the images of each of the actors also fired when patients were shown the associated landmark images.

In other words, the researchers were able to watch as the patients’ neurons recorded a new memory — not just of a particular person, but of the person at a particular place. The research could help scientists better understand how the brain encodes and stores new memories, Matias said. The study appears in the journal Neuron.



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(Published 03 August 2015, 16:53 IST)

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