Trains in the brain -- Scientists uncover switching system used in
information processing and memory

Date:
August 3, 2021
Source:
New York University
Summary:
A team of scientists has uncovered a system in the brain used in
the processing of information and in the storing of memories --
akin to how railroad switches control a train's destination.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
A team of scientists has uncovered a system in the brain used in the
processing of information and in the storing of memories -- akin to how railroad switches control a train's destination. The findings offer new insights into how the brain functions.


========================================================================== "Researchers have sought to identify neural circuits that have specialized functions, but there are simply too many tasks the brain performs for each circuit to have its own purpose," explains Andre' Fenton, a professor
of neural science at New York University and the senior author of the
study, which appears in the journal Cell Reports. "Our results reveal
how the same circuit takes on more than one function. The brain diverts 'trains' of neural activity from encoding our experiences to recalling
them, showing that the same circuits have a role in both information
processing and in memory." This newly discovered dynamic shows how the
brain functions more efficiently than previously realized.

"When the same circuit performs more than one function, synergistic,
creative, and economic interactions become possible," Fenton adds.

To explore the role of brain circuits, the researchers examined the
hippocampus -- a brain structure long known to play a significant
role in memory -- in mice. They investigated how the mouse hippocampus
switches from encoding the current location to recollecting a remote
location. Here, mice navigated a surface and received a mild shock if they touched certain areas, prompting the encoding of information. When the
mice subsequently returned to this surface, they avoided the area where
they'd previously received the shock -- evidence that memory influenced
their movement.

The analysis of neural activity revealed a switching in the hippocampus.

Specifically, the scientists found that a certain type of activity pattern
in the population of neurons known as a dentate spike, which originates
from the medial entorhinal cortex (DSM), served to coordinate changes
in brain function.

"Railway switches control each train's destination, whereas dentate
spikes switch hippocampus information processing from encoding to recollection," observes Fenton. "Like a railway switch diverts a train,
this dentate spike event diverts thoughts from the present to the past."
This research was supported by grants from the National Institutes of
Health (R01NS105472 and R01MH099128).

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by New_York_University. Note: Content
may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Dino Dvorak, Ain Chung, Eun Hye Park, Andre' Antonio Fenton. Dentate
spikes and external control of hippocampal function. Cell Reports,
2021; 36 (5): 109497 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2021.109497 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/08/210803121304.htm

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