Working with patients with
electrodes implanted in their brains, researchers at the University of
California, Davis, and The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
(UTHealth) have shown for the first time that areas of the brain work together
at the same time to recall memories. The unique approach promises new insights
into how we remember details of time and place. Researchers placed electrodes
on the patient's brain inside the skull. The electrodes remain in place for one
to two weeks for monitoring.
Six such patients volunteered for
the study while the electrodes were in place. Using a laptop computer, the
patients learned to navigate a route through a virtual streetscape, picking up
passengers and taking them to specific places. Later, they were asked to recall
the routes from memory. Correct memory recall was associated with increased
activity across multiple connected brain regions at the same time, rather than
activity in one region followed by another. However, the analysis did show that
the medial temporal lobe is an important hub of the memory network, confirming
earlier studies.
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