The human brain is undoubtedly the most complex part of the body. So much so that it still hosts many unknowns. Scientists continue to work on subjects that still have question marks such as thought, consciousness and memories. Finally, there has been an important development in how memories work.
Study by scientists paving the way for brain control
Scientists have conducted an important study on brain control. The experiment led to controversial results.
The human brain stores memories like photographs
A group of researchers with the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) has published a paper in Nature Neuroscience on how the brain forms memories. The article includes his observation and description of specific brain cells responsible for forming and storing human memories. So much so that, according to scientists, understanding how memories work can shed light on the unknowns of the brain.
The published article argues that the so-called “border” and “event” cells in the brain cells mark certain memories in the brain. In other words, the brain holds and positions every memory as if it were its own object.
The research was led by Uelie Rutishauser, professor at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Rutishauser and fellow researchers worked with 20 patients who were undergoing intracranial recording of their brain activity for surgery to treat epilepsy. In the course of the research, the scientists observed the subordinates’ reactions to movie clips containing various “cognitive limits.”
After the research process, scientists stated that memories are also stored in the brain, just like photos are stored on a computer and phone. In the article, he says, memories are stored differently depending on the events they are based on and the time they were retrieved.
The researchers say that the brain scans for boundary peaks to determine what it should show the person. In other words, when it comes across a set of markers that look familiar, it opens them and starts showing them to you. The researchers who published the paper think that discovering how memories work is a big step towards fighting Alzheimer’s disease.