Tag: memory

Categories : NeurologyTags :

Scientists Crack Neuron Information Storage Code

On By ModernMedia

A team of scientists from the UK and Australia have discovered that single neurons can store electrical patterns, similar to memories. This represents a breakthrough towards solving how neural systems are able to process and store information.

By comparing predictions from mathematical modeling to lab-based experiments with mammalian neurons, they were able to determine how different parameters, such as how long it takes for neuronal signals to be processed and how sensitive a cell is to external signals, affect how neural systems encode information.

The research team found that a single neuron is able to select between different patterns, dependent on the properties of each individual stimulus, for example slight differences in stimulation timing resulted in the emergence of no electrical activity spikes, single spikes per delay or two spikes per delay,

By opening up new avenues into research on the encoding of information in the brain and how this relates to memory formation, the study could also allow new insights into the causes and treatments of mental health conditions such as dementia.

“This work highlights how mathematical analysis and wet-lab experiments can be closely integrated to shed new light on fundamental problems in neuroscience,” said Dr Wedgwood. “That the theoretical predictions were so readily confirmed in experiments gives us great confidence in the mathematical approach as a tool for understanding how individual cells store patterns of activity. In the long run, we hope that this is the first step to a better understanding of memory formation in neural networks.”

Professor Krauskopf from the University of Auckland remarked, “The research shows that a living neuron coupled to itself is able to sustain different patterns in response to a stimulus. This is an exciting first step towards understanding how groups of neurons are able to respond to external stimuli in a precise temporal manner.”

“Communication between neurons occurs over large distances. The communication delay associated with this plays an important role in shaping the overall response of a network. This insight is crucial to how neural systems encode memories, which is one of the most fundamental questions in neuroscience,” added Professor Tsaneva from the University of Exeter’s Living Systems Institute.

Source: Medical Xpress

Journal information: Kyle C. A. Wedgwood et al, Robust spike timing in an excitable cell with delayed feedback, Journal of The Royal Society Interface (2021). dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2021.0029

Categories : NeurologyTags :

Shared Neural System May Be Used for Different Memory Stores

On By ModernMedia

The brain may have a shared neural system that is involved in the retrieval of facts and personal memories used in everyday life, new research has found.

Factual memory had long been categorised into two stores; factual memory and memory of personal experiences. These two repositories in concert enable people to make sense of the world around them. Individuals with retrograde amnesia can fail to remember personal experiences, but still recall factual knowledge. These two stores have been shown by decades of clinical and experimental research to be stored across two separate regions of the brain.

But the new study suggests that a shared set of brain regions play an important role in controlling the successful retrieval of weak memories.

When participants were asked to retrieve fact memories and personal memories, researchers used functional MRI imaging to study how these regions changed in activity levels.

Lead researcher Dr Deniz Vatansever, formerly of the University of York and now working for the Institute of Science and Technology for Brain-inspired Intelligence, Fudan University said: “The new research suggests that despite their functional differences, successfully retrieving weak information from these two memory systems might be dependent upon a shared brain mechanism.

“Our memories allow us to make sense and flexibly interact with the world around us. Although in most cases, our strongly encoded memories might be sufficient for the task at hand, remembering to pack a beach towel for an upcoming seaside holiday, this strong memory may be irrelevant in other instances, such as when packing for a business trip. As such, we need to tightly control the retrieval of relevant memories to solve different tasks under different circumstances. Our results indicate that this control process might be shared across both factual and personal memory types.”

The researchers said their findings may be applicable to memory disorders, including dementia, where patients’ quality of life is affected by being unable to remember important information. The findings could also be relevant in the development of a new generation of AI, which use long-term memory in solving computational problems. 

“In order to generate appropriate thoughts and behaviors, we have to draw on our memory stores in a highly flexible way,” said senior author Elizabeth Jefferies, and professor, Department of Psychology, University of York. “This new study highlights control processes within the brain that allow us to focus on unusual aspects of the meanings of words and to retrieve weakly encoded personal experiences. This control over memory allows us to be creative and to adapt as our goals or circumstances change.”

Source: News-Medical.Net

Journal information: Vatansever, D., et al. (2021) Varying demands for cognitive control reveals shared neural processes supporting semantic and episodic memory retrieval. Nature Communications. doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-22443-2.