Memories...in the corners of the brain
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/aug/27/memories-cells-healthy-lunches/
Confirming what some theorists have long suspected, researchers recently reported that the human brain locks down episodic memories, committing each recollection to a distinct fraction of individual cells.
The findings, by the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, and the Dignity Health Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, have the potential to ultimately shed light on new treatments for diseases and conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and epilepsy.
Senior author of the study, Dr. Peter N. Steinmetz, program director of neuroengineering at Barrow, along with UCSD professors John T. Wixted and Larry R. Squire and colleagues, assessed nine patients with epilepsy whose brains were implanted with electrodes to monitor seizures.
The patients memorized a list of words on a computer screen, then viewed a second, longer list that contained those words, plus others. They were asked to identify words they’d seen earlier and to indicate how well they remembered them.
The differences that were observed in cell-firing activity between words seen on the first list and those not on the list indicated that cells in the hippocampus area of the brain were representing the patients’ memories of the words.
The ultimate goal is to understand how the brain forms and represents memories of places and things in everyday life, which cells are involved and how those cells are affected by illness and disease.
Healthy lunch ideas
With the new school year, parents may be on the lookout for healthy items to include in their kid’s lunches. Here are a few good-for-your suggestions:
• Wraps made with whole wheat tortillas and filled with lean cold cuts or low-fat cream cheese topped with veggie slices. Even PB& J is healthier in a wheat wrap
• Trail mix made with cereals, nuts, pretzels, dried fruit or raisins and a few chocolate chips
• Low-fat cheese on whole wheat crackers
• Air-popped popcorn fwith a sprinkling of parmesan cheese
Source: www.medicinenet.com
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