American scientists from the University of California at Los Angeles have discovered a previously unknown memory mechanism. It acts during sleep, creating memories and reducing the body’s metabolic costs. The research was published in the scientific journal magazine Nature Communications (NatComms).
According to the report, the new type of memory state is associated with a central region of the brain called the entorhinal cortex. This area is also involved in the development of Alzheimer’s disease, a type of dementia.
The team measured the membrane potential of neurons in the entorhinal cortex and also assessed activity in the parietal cortex, the part of the brain that sends signals to the entorhinal cortex.
The authors observed that signals from the parietal cortex periodically oscillate between on and off states while the person sleeps.
At the same time, activity in the entorhinal cortex continued even during sleep, ebbing and flowing like waves on water.
Scientists have called this type of memory functioning “spontaneous permanent immobility.”
The team found that continuous work of the entorhinal cortex wastes almost no energy in the body and also doubles the amount of memory a person can use.
Researchers believe that cognitive impairments that occur in Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia may be related to the memory mechanism they discovered.
Previous scientists in the name Factor that increases the risk of Alzheimer’s disease by up to 95%.
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Source: Gazeta
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