Brain waves travel in opposite directions for memory and recall • Earth.com

Have you ever wondered how you remember your childhood holidays, juggling millions of thoughts in your head? After all, your brain uses a special kind of wave to process everything. I understand that it is classified.

new research from columbia engineering We shine a light on your brain waves, revealing a fascinating interactive path to memory creation and recovery.

Brain waves and their functions

Our brain is made up of billions of substances Nerve cell They are called neurons that communicate with each other using electrical signals. These chats create patterns of activity called brain waves. The types of brain waves depend on the firing rate of these signals.

There are five main types of brain waves: delta, theta, alpha, beta, and gamma. Delta waves are the slowest and occur during deep sleep.

Theta waves are slightly faster and are associated with light sleep, relaxation, and dreams. Alpha waves occur when you are relaxed and calm, especially when your eyes are closed.

Beta waves are fast and indicate that we are actively thinking, focused, or alert. Gamma waves are the fastest and are involved in learning and study. problem solving.

Brain waves are important because they can tell us a lot about what's going on in our brains. If the pattern is unusual, it may be a sign of cognitive imbalance.

Discovery of traveling waves in the brain

scientist researching memory They recruited epilepsy patients who had special electrodes implanted in their brains. This allowed the researchers to directly measure brain activity as participants memorized and recalled words and letters.

The experts focused on a particular type of brainwave, called a “travelling wave,” and tracked how it moves across the surface of the brain. An interesting finding was that these waves travel in one direction when memories are created and in another direction when memories are recalled.

“These findings reveal the mechanisms underlying memory processing. More broadly, these studies shed light on how the brain supports a wide range of behaviors that involve precisely coordinated interactions between brain regions. “It helps us better understand how people are doing,” said study co-author Uma R. Mohan, a postdoctoral researcher in the United States. National Institutes of Health (NIH (National Institutes of Health).

Brain regions work together

When forming new memories, brain waves flow from the back of the brain to the front. This may be the brain's way of storing new experiences together. This orientation may help different brain regions work together to process and remember information.

On the other hand, when we remember something, our brain waves move in the opposite direction, from front to back. This may help enable stored information to be provided to us. consciousness.

This process is like regenerating the connections between brain cells that were formed when the memory was first created, allowing the memory to be retrieved.

understand the pattern

Our brains form memories in stages. When you learn something new, like a recipe, different parts of your brain work together.

One area understands the words we read (reading comprehension), another area creates a picture of the completed dish (visual imagery), and another remembers the steps involved (procedural memory). ).

When you focus on memorizing a recipe, waves of brain activity travel from the back, where visual and spatial information is processed, to the front, where memories are consolidated. This back-to-front direction of movement helps encode information into usable memory.

Recalling a memory is the opposite. To prepare the dish based on memory, waves of brain activity travel in the opposite direction. From the front of the brain, where memories are stored, we move back to the visual and procedural areas that were initially involved in learning. This reverse movement from front to back is useful for recalling saved recipes.

Brain propagation waves in medicine

This research has the potential to revolutionize medicine, especially in memory-related diseases. “We think this research could lead to new approaches for interfacing with the brain. By measuring the direction in which a person's brain waves travel, we may be able to predict their behavior.” '' explained lead researcher Professor Joshua Jacobs.

In the future, doctors may be able to predict memory problems or certain behaviors by studying brain wave patterns. This can lead to earlier diagnosis and, in some cases, treatments that can delay or reduce symptoms of memory loss.

The possibilities become even more exciting. Scientists may be able to directly influence brain waves to improve memory or even treat memory problems entirely. Imagine a therapy that modulates brainwave activity to correct the imbalances that cause memory problems.

This type of treatment can be life-changing for millions of people who suffer from memory loss. Alzheimer's disease, and other brain disorders. This could allow them to regain more independence and improve their quality of life.

The research will be published in a journal nature human behavior.

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