The mechanism behind how memory and special cognition are related has been detailed by US researchers.
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and the Veteran Affairs (VA) San Diego Healthcare System say that their findings are based on a study of memory-impaired patients as they navigated their environment.
Alzheimer’s disease - Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Stages, Types, Prevention, Prognosis & Treatment
Alzheimer's disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disease affecting memory and thinking and making the person increasingly dependent on others.
Alzheimer's disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disease affecting memory and thinking and making the person increasingly dependent on others.
However, they insisted, their study showed that the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex - two major medial temporal lobe structures - are not essential for path integration.
Lead researcher Dr. Larry R. Squire said that the study, reported in the online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), was designed to measure whether these structures of the brain are essential for spatial cognition.
Early Brain Changes Noticed in Healthy Children of Alzheimer Patients
Healthy children of Alzheimer patients display neurological changes much before clinical symptoms may appear, says Medical College of Wisconsin researchers in Milwaukee.
Healthy children of Alzheimer patients display neurological changes much before clinical symptoms may appear, says Medical College of Wisconsin researchers in Milwaukee.
The researcher further said that one important aspect of spatial cognition was keeping track of a reference location during movement by using internal cues, yet such tracking also relied on memory.
Advertisement
The Secret to Bringing Out Your Child's Hidden Genius!
Want to make sure that your kids' school report card shines bright with good grades and less leaves? Well, in that case, just make they eat a healthy breakfast and lunch, say a group of researchers.
Want to make sure that your kids' school report card shines bright with good grades and less leaves? Well, in that case, just make they eat a healthy breakfast and lunch, say a group of researchers.
During the study, the researchers looked at five memory-impaired patients with lesions of the medial temporal lobe along with seven matched controls, testing each for their path integration ability.
Advertisement
Maternal History of Alzheimer's Puts Children at Risk
Individuals, who have a maternal history of Alzheimer's disease, are predisposed to the neurodegenerative disease because their brains aren't using glucose efficiently, says a new study.
Individuals, who have a maternal history of Alzheimer's disease, are predisposed to the neurodegenerative disease because their brains aren't using glucose efficiently, says a new study.
After walking the path, participants were asked to point to their start location.
The researchers found that the memory-impaired patients pointed to and estimated their distance from the start location as accurately as the controls.
"We concluded that the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex are not essential for path integration, since we showed that the tests could be successfully accomplished despite damage to these brain regions," said Squire.
Source-ANI
RAS/L
