New York University discovers how short-term memory can be strengthened
New York University: enhancing sharp-wave activity in the hippocampus of rats improved memory performance by 10–15%, opening a path to strengthening short-term memory.
New York University: enhancing sharp-wave activity in the hippocampus of rats improved memory performance by 10–15%, opening a path to strengthening short-term memory.
Scientists managed to do this using rats as a model. When the animal absorbed information about a new location, brain cells emitted longer signals. When the signals were made even longer, the animals remembered better.
This concerns modifying signal activity in the hippocampus — the brain's memory center. Influencing it enhanced the ability to learn. During the experiments, scientists recorded the signal activity of hippocampal cells while rats performed a memory task. It turned out that sharp waves of activity (visible on EEG) were tens of milliseconds longer when a rat was placed in a new location instead of a familiar one.
Next, scientists stimulated hippocampal cells to add working neurons to the natural sequence of sharp waves. As a result, the sharp waves were strengthened, and the animals' memory performance improved by 10–15%. This allowed them to find the treat in the maze more efficiently.
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