Sci Rep discovered neurons that specialize in memory speed and location

More than a decade after discovering the role of pyramidal neurons in spatial and locational psychological representations, a team of Brazilian and American researchers made important contributions to scientists' understanding of brain navigation systems by identifying a subtype of these neurons, which can measure velocity

"In animal experiments, we demonstrated the link between the electrical activity of inhibitory interneurons and the representation of speed in the brain," said

Excitatory neurons and inhibitory interneurons are located in the hippocampus, a bilateral brain structure located in the temporal lobe (behind the ear) that is associated

"While they all play a role in the coding space, we found that inhibiting neurons has some additional function," juliane Midori Ikebara said

Peter Schuette, a researcher in the Department of Psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), is the lead author

By analyzing video images of neural activity in mice, the team also observed that inhibitory neurons respond differently

This behavior is unknown and may be related to

In practice, Ikebara notes that this is the first study to demonstrate inhibition of cellular function, which accounts for less than 10 percent

The standard device used in such experiments is the Miniscope, also developed at Stanford University in California, for prohibitively high prices

Ikebara brought the technology to UFABC, and in addition to the miniature microscopes he built, the study of the electrical activity of mouse neurons involved biosensors and algorithms

A cylindrical lens is then placed on the hippocampus, and the miniature microscope is fixed to the surface of the skull, recording the activity of neurons

After recording hundreds of hours of video, the researchers used information theory and algorithms to link

Adhikari told Agência FAPESP: "We found that just by looking at the map of electrically activated neurons, it was possible to predict the position of mice in the environment very precisely, without having to watch a video

According to Ikebara, the findings help to better understand how people track and retain route information and learn new locations

Lack of oxygen at birth leads to spatial memory deficits, a problem also associated with alterations in inhibitory neurons

Ikebara conducted her PhD research under funding from the UFABC Neuroscience and Cognition Graduate Program, with guidance

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