Brain complexity: neuron control of learning/memory (Introduction)

by David Turell , Thursday, July 05, 2018, 23:00 (2333 days ago) @ David Turell

When a fact is learned it is placed in memory in the hippocampus:

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-07-brain-cell.html

"The researchers have now found certain neurons in the brain that play a crucial part in learning. The same research group had previously discovered "gatekeeper" cells or, in technical parlance, Oriens-lacunosum moleculare (OLM) cells. These are located in the hippocampus, the brain area known to be active in forming new memories. The new findings from Klas Kullander's research group show that OLM cell activity affects the encoding of memories in the brain.

"When the OLM cells were overactivated in experiments on laboratory mice, their memory and learning functions deteriorated. When these cells were inactivated instead, the function of new memory formation improved. This research has enhanced understanding of how a single component in the memory circuits can affect memory formation.

"We had expected to be able to impair learning, since it seemed likely that the effect of our experiment at the cellular level would disturb the normal function of the nervous system. However, we were surprised to find that learning and memory also could be improved," says Klas Kullander.

Comment: Bit by bit scientists are finding where all functions of the mind are found in the brain. In my view the self/soul is the driver of the mental processes by using the brain networks.