Researchers at the Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, developed a new method to help create 3D models of memory-relevant brain structures.
Dr Martin Pyka along with a team from the Mercator Research Group created an easy method to reconstruct the brain's anatomic data as a 3D model on the computer. "This approach is quite unique, because it enables automatic calculation of the neural interconnection on the basis of their position inside the space and their projection directions. Biologically feasible network structures can thus be generated more easily than it used to be the case with the method available to date," researchers explained in a press statement.
The interconnection of the neurons in the brain is complicated, Science 2.0 states. This holds particularly true for the cells of the hippocampus, the oldest brain part in evolution and its form resembles a sea horse. The region helps humans to navigate space securely and form memories. Till now, the anatomic knowledge of the networks inside the hippocampus and its connection to the rest of the brain has left scientists with little idea about which information arrived where and when.
The RUB researchers used their technique to monitor the way neural signals spread throughout the network time-wise, deploying 3D. They found evidence that the hippocampus' form and size might explain why neurons in those networks fire in certain frequencies.
Researchers explained that this particular method might help them understand how animals join various information to form memories within the hippocampus in order to memorise food sources or dangers and to remember them in certain situations.
The study is published in the trade journal Frontiers in Neuroanatomy.
