How does the mind pick out things to remember? New York University biology professor György Buzsáki has long considered this subject.
Buzsáki and colleagues' brain electrical pattern analysis showed that sharp wave ripples (SPW-Rs) are crucial to memory formation.
How Sharp Wave Ripples Help Us Remember Things
Sharp wave ripples are rapid, high-frequency brain waves that are made when thousands of neurons fire at the same time. These waves mostly happen when the brain is at rest or asleep and is not constantly processing new information. The study by Buzsáki, published in Science, shows that SPW-Rs help memories stick together and help choose which events to remember for a long time.
A Ph.D. student in Buzsáki's lab, Wannan Yang, says that SPW-Rs are like a "fireworks show in the brain." These waves playback the patterns of neural activity that an animal has experienced, like getting through a maze, 10 to 20 times faster than the original events. While you rest and sleep, this playback is essential for making memories last.
In tests with mice, Buzsáki's group watched brain activity while the mice went through mazes. They discovered that the things SPW-Rs did while resting were more likely to return to them when they went to sleep later.
This shows that SPW-Rs mark specific experiences so that we remember them for a long time. Without these effects, those events are likely to be forgotten.
Similar Research on How Memories Form
Other research has also shown that SPW-Rs are essential for remembering. Michaël Zugaro's study at the Collège de France, for example, showed that messing with these ripples makes rats' memories worse.
On the other hand, raising the number of SPW-Rs improves memory performance. This shows that SPW-Rs are essential to how the brain remembers and stores important events for later use.
A second study from Yale University, published in Nature Human Behavior, examines how the brain decides which memories to keep and which ones to forget. According to this study, people are likelier to remember things that are hard to explain or plan for.
The study by Ilker Yildirim and John Lafferty shows that the brain's ability to understand an event is critical to how well it is remembered. The brain gives more weight to new or challenging experiences, making them more likely to become cherished memories.
These results significantly affect how we think about memory and how our brains work. Artificial intelligence systems could better organize and remember information by copying how the brain stores knowledge. These new ideas could also lead to better ways to treat conditions like PTSD, in which memories that aren't wanted are too transparent.
Scientists have learned a lot about how our brains decide what to remember since they found out that SPW-Rs play a part in memory formation. While Buzsáki and his team keep working on their project, these results could have many uses in neuroscience and artificial intelligence. By figuring out how memories are made, we can improve learning, improve mental health solutions, and make AI systems smarter.
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