Kiev. Ukraine. Ukraine Gate – December 23, 2020 – Health
Scientists from the University of Durham (UK) have discovered a new type of brain cells. They help a person remember where he leaves personal belongings.
It is already known that the brain stores “maps” of the places where we often go. The newly discovered cells, according to the study authors, allow us to identify objects (such as car keys or mobile phones) within these “mental maps.” Damage to these cells may explain memory loss in some types of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s.
It is known that neurons carry electrical impulses, transmitting information through electrical and chemical signals. The new cells “encode” data about the direction and distance to the object, as well as the memory of objects that we recently saw, but are now out of sight. Scientists called them “vector”.
“It seems that vector cells connect to creative areas of the brain that help us plan actions and present complex scenarios in our mind’s eye,” the authors of the scientific paper noted.
The scientists explained that vector cells apparently act in concert and allow humans to recreate spatial relationships between themselves and other objects, even if those objects are not directly visible.
“Vector cells help me remember where my daughter buried her shells – that is, three meters from my deck chair in that direction,” – explained study co-author Stephen Poulter.
Back in the early 2000s, Norwegian neuroscientists Edward and May-Britt Moser discovered a system of brain cells that helps one navigate in space. For this, they were awarded the Nobel Prize in 2014. The new discovery provided additional, very important information about the work of these structures.
Vector cells are located in the area of the brain that is one of the first to be attacked by neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease. This is probably why one of the earliest and most common symptoms of this ailment is when a person constantly loses personal belongings and cannot remember where he recently put them.