Using "sub-millimeter" brain implants, researchers have been able to determine which parts of the brain are linked to facial and scene recognition. The study was published today in Current Biology.
"The ability to recognize familiar faces and locations is crucial to everyday life," said the senior author of the study. "Identifying someone allows you to communicate with them and know who they are, and having this basic skill helps an individual attach an identity to those around them, making it easier to differentiate the who, what, and where."
Traditionally, the hippocampus and parahippocampal gyri, located in the medial temporal lobe (MTL), are implicated as the main area for identification processes. However, recently it has become clear to researchers that the memory network responsible for identification extends beyond the MTL, including a region deep inside the brain called the medial parietal cortex (MPC).
To better understand how recognition and identification occur, researchers performed direct intracranial recordings in the MPC and MTL, structures that are known to be engaged during face and scene identification. In a cohort of 50 participants, a large number for this type of study, researchers placed stereoelectroencephalography (sEEG) electrode implants, used to identify epileptic seizures, in their brain and monitored their brain activity during several tests. This procedure in minimally invasive, involving the insertion of fine probes into the skull.
During these tests, researchers would show patients around 300 photos of celebrity faces and famous landmarks to determine whether or not they could name what they were seeing.
"One of the things that we were able to determine was that the MPC has specific regions involved in face and scene recognition," said the first author. "The MPC was preferentially activated when the patients recognized the people and places, exactly the same as traditional memory regions in MTL. We were also able to see how the MPC and MTL work together to help a person recognize faces and places."
Research shows that this part of the parietal lobe where the MPC is located is an area of the brain that begins to deteriorate early in patients with Alzheimer's disease. Identifying it as one of the regions of the brain that helps with memory and recognition shows researchers that areas outside of the traditional memory region, namely the hippocampus, are important to understand how abnormalities of the brain like Alzheimer's affects a person.
https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(20)30657-6
http://sciencemission.com/site/index.php?page=news&type=view&id=publications%2Fcategory-selectivity&filter=22
Facial and scene recognition areas of brain identified!
- 947 views
- Added
Edited
Latest News
Which of the two DNA strand…
By newseditor
Posted 16 Jun
Microglia depletion prevent…
By newseditor
Posted 16 Jun
Colorectal cancer stem cell…
By newseditor
Posted 16 Jun
Paranoia in the brain
By newseditor
Posted 16 Jun
In-vitro 3D culture of func…
By newseditor
Posted 15 Jun
Other Top Stories
Imaging in low-light conditions
Read more
Forgetting pathway in the brain!
Read more
Ultra-sensitive test for cancers, HIV
Read more
An implant to prevent Alzheimer's
Read more
Light-sheet fluorescence nanoscopy by RESOLFT
Read more
Protocols
Bioengineered human colon o…
By newseditor
Posted 14 Jun
Development of an efficient…
By newseditor
Posted 12 Jun
A co-culture system of macr…
By newseditor
Posted 10 Jun
Analysis of 3D pathology sa…
By newseditor
Posted 08 Jun
Long-term expandable mouse…
By newseditor
Posted 07 Jun
Publications
Pathways for macrophage upt…
By newseditor
Posted 16 Jun
Common and distinct neural…
By newseditor
Posted 16 Jun
Strand-resolved mutagenicit…
By newseditor
Posted 16 Jun
Innate-like T cells in live…
By newseditor
Posted 16 Jun
Membrane to cortex attachme…
By newseditor
Posted 16 Jun
Presentations
Myelin plasticity in the ve…
By newseditor
Posted 10 Jun
Hydrogels in Drug Delivery
By newseditor
Posted 12 Apr
Lipids
By newseditor
Posted 31 Dec
Cell biology of carbohydrat…
By newseditor
Posted 29 Nov
RNA interference (RNAi)
By newseditor
Posted 23 Oct
Posters
A chemical biology/modular…
By newseditor
Posted 22 Aug
Single-molecule covalent ma…
By newseditor
Posted 04 Jul
ASCO-2020-HEALTH SERVICES R…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Mar
ASCO-2020-HEAD AND NECK CANCER
By newseditor
Posted 23 Mar
ASCO-2020-GENITOURINARY CAN…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Mar