The human brain is a complex and fascinating organ that is responsible for our ability to learn, remember, and recall information. Recently, a study led by the universities of Bristol and Heidelberg showed that the synchronization of unique groups of neurons in the brain is crucial for memory retention. When these neuronal assemblies fail to sync up at the correct time, memories are lost.
The study focused on two key brain regions, the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex, which play a critical role in short-term memory. Researchers aimed to understand how these brain regions interact with each other as memories are formed, maintained, and recalled. They also wanted to investigate why memory sometimes fails.
Neural assemblies, which are groups of neurons that work together to process information, were proposed over 70 years ago. However, it has been difficult to pinpoint these assemblies. Using brain recordings in rats, the research team was able to show that memory encoding, storage, and recall are supported by dynamic interactions incorporating multiple neural assemblies formed within and between the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. When the coordination of these assemblies fails, the animals made mistakes.
The lead author of the study, Dr. Michał Kucewicz, Assistant Professor of Neurology at Gdansk University of Technology, stated that the results make potential therapeutic interventions for memory restoration more challenging to target in space and time. However, the findings also identified critical processes that determine success or failure in remembering. These processes present viable targets for therapeutic interventions on the level of neural assembly interactions.
Matt Jones, Professor of Neuroscience in the School of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience and Bristol Neuroscience, and senior author of the paper, added that the findings add to the evidence that the neural substrates of memory are more distributed in anatomical space and dynamic across time than previously thought based on neuropsychological models.
The next steps for the research would be to modulate neural assembly interactions, either using drugs or via brain stimulation, to test whether disrupting or augmenting them would impair or enhance remembering. Dr. Kucewicz is currently doing this in human patients to restore memory functions impaired in a particular brain disorder.
In conclusion, the study sheds light on the importance of synchronization between neuronal assemblies in the brain for memory retention. It also presents viable targets for therapeutic interventions on the level of neural assembly interactions, which could lead to significant breakthroughs in memory restoration for patients with brain disorders.
