ISLAMABAD: New research by three Spanish institutions has shed light on how the brain incorporates new information into existing memories without allowing related experiences to become confused.
The study found that specific neurons in the hippocampus help preserve memories of past events even as the brain stores new information connected to those same experiences.
Researchers use the example of a building being constructed in a familiar neighborhood. The brain can remember three distinct stages: what the building site looked like before construction, the construction process itself, and the completed structure.
The key question is how the brain keeps these related memories separate while still linking them together.
Researchers at the Institute of Neurosciences, a joint public research center operated by Spain’s National Research Council (CSIC) and Miguel Hernández University, have identified a neural mechanism that may explain this process.
According to the team at the institute’s Neural Network Plasticity Laboratory, the brain relies on a region of the hippocampus known as the dentate gyrus, which plays an important role in the formation of new memories.
The researchers found that a specific type of neuron in this region suppresses the activity of other cells. This inhibitory mechanism helps the brain organize new experiences while integrating them with memories that have already been stored.
The findings provide new insight into how the brain maintains distinct memories of related events while allowing them to remain connected as part of a broader experience.
The research has been published in the journal PLOS Biology.