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Two kinds of memory signals in neurons of the human hippocampus

August 17, 2022 | Research

Urgolites et al., 2020, Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 117, 13767-13770. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2115128119.

Dr. Marina Urgolites, a post-doctoral scholar working in Dr. Wixted’s laboratory, analyzed single neuron recordings while patients recalled whether words had been seen on a list before or not. These recordings showed that neurons in the human hippocampus respond selectively to the proper recall of specific words, versus neurons in other brain regions which respond generally whether a word has been seen before. This is the first time neurons responsive to both types of memory have been identified in the same experiment.