With partial support from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Caltech scientist Erin Schuman and collaborators have found the mechanism by which the mind encodes strong memories. When memory-related neurons fire at the same frequency as certain brain waves (called theta-waves), the encoded memories prove much stronger and last longer. This work could help develop treatments for people with learning disabilities and dementia. Their findings appear in the March 24th online edition of Nature.

Grants from the Foundation helping to fund Schuman’s work include those to Caltech for the Neurobiological Foundations of Reward and the Proteome Exploration Laboratory.

Related Link: http://authors.library.caltech.edu/18277/

 

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