New aspect of how the processing of odors impacts memory centres has been discovered by two neuroscientists of Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB).
Dr. Christina Strauch and Professor Denise Manahan-Vaughan report about their findings in the online edition of the magazine Cerebral Cortex on 9 April 2019.
Foods to Improve Memory Power
Eating healthy nutritious foods can help improve memory power and prevent brain-related illness. Eat foods that have numerous health benefits for keeping your brain healthy.
Advertisement
‘Piriform cortex - a part of the olfactory brain - has a direct influence on information storage in our most important memory structure, the hippocampus. ’
Tweet it Now
Electric impulses simulate odors
To find out how odors affect memory formation, the researchers triggered an artificial perception of an odor in the brains of rats. To do this, they stimulated the piriform cortex with electrical impulses. "We were very surprised to see that the hippocampus directly responds to stimulation of the piriform cortex," remarked Christina Strauch.
![Brain Exercises to Improve Memory]( "Brain Exercises to Improve Memory")
An active brain can certainly help in improving memory by strengthening the connections between neural impulses in brain.
The hippocampus uses sensory information to create complex memories. The basis of this processes is its ability to increase the efficacy of information transmission across synapses and thereby store memory contents. This process is called synaptic plasticity. Manahan-Vaughan and Strauch were the first to show that stimulation of the anterior piriform cortex triggers synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus.
Special role for olfaction
In a second step, the researchers examined to what extent the piriform cortex competes with the entorhinal cortex in driving hippocampal synaptic plasticity. This structure sends information about activity in all sensory modalities to the hippocampus. Activating the afferent pathway of this structure, called the perforant path, triggered completely different reaction patterns in the hippocampus, to those generated by the piriform cortex. "The study gives us a theoretical basis for understanding how olfaction plays such a special role in memory formation and retrieval," commented Denise Manahan-Vaughan.
Source: Eurekalert
Brain Exercises to Improve Memory
An active brain can certainly help in improving memory by strengthening the connections between neural impulses in brain.
Advertisement
The hippocampus uses sensory information to create complex memories. The basis of this processes is its ability to increase the efficacy of information transmission across synapses and thereby store memory contents. This process is called synaptic plasticity. Manahan-Vaughan and Strauch were the first to show that stimulation of the anterior piriform cortex triggers synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus.
Special role for olfaction
In a second step, the researchers examined to what extent the piriform cortex competes with the entorhinal cortex in driving hippocampal synaptic plasticity. This structure sends information about activity in all sensory modalities to the hippocampus. Activating the afferent pathway of this structure, called the perforant path, triggered completely different reaction patterns in the hippocampus, to those generated by the piriform cortex. "The study gives us a theoretical basis for understanding how olfaction plays such a special role in memory formation and retrieval," commented Denise Manahan-Vaughan.
Source: Eurekalert
Quiz on Memory Loss
"Without memory, there is no culture. Without memory, there would be no civilization, no society, no future." - Elie Wiesel Whether it is a short term memory loss just as Dory in 'Finding Nemo' had or a more permanent one because of neurodegenerative diseases, it can adversely affect one's quality of life. Take this quiz to know more about interesting facts on memory loss
Advertisement
 Strong Mobile Phone Radiation Can Influence Learning ProcessesNeuroscientists from Bochum have proved that extremely high-powered electromagnetic fields (EMFs) indeed influence learning processes on the synaptic level within the brain. | Advertisement
|
Advertisement
Recommended Reading
Latest Research News
A new study explored the link between T immune cells in ill patients and mortality risk.
Limb savage procedure benefits patients with severe vascular disease who are at risk for amputation of their limbs.
Does omega-3 help Alzheimer's patients? A new form of omega-3 helped restore specific markers of eye health in mice bred with aspects of early-onset Alzheimer's disease.
Drugs used to inhibit the physiological responses for allergic reactions lessen osteoarthritis risk, revealed research.
The International Space Station will be used to carry out experiments seeking to improve understanding of incurable child brain tumors and the muscle aging process.