How Neurons in the Hippocampus Allow Us to Recognize Others
The Center for Cognition and Sociality (CCS) of the Institute of Basic Sciences (IBS) recently discovered neurons in the hippocampus that allow us to recognize others. The research team found that the neurons that deal with information linked to different individuals are located in the CA1 region of the hippocampus. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at how the researchers made their discoveries, what this means for future studies, and the potential impact this could have on brain disorder treatments.
Individual Recognition – The Brain’s Process
The ability to recognize the identity of other individuals, retrieve relevant information from memory, and update it based on current interaction is vital for social animals, including humans. However, until now, there has been limited research into how these processes occur in the brain. The hippocampus, primarily the CA2 region, was thought to be the answer, as it is a brain structure responsible for memory formation and social memory, which involve links to people. However, the studies in mice on the neural mechanisms of individual recognition were primarily focused on the CA2 region of the hippocampus.
New Behavioral Paradigm
The IBS-CCS research team developed a new behavioral paradigm for studying this process in mice. This method involved the subject mouse associating specific mice with rewards and studying their conduct after discovering reward-associated and non-associated individuals. The researchers showed that the CA1 region of the dorsal hippocampus plays a vital role in individual recognition. Furthermore, they identified specific neural cells in the CA1 region that are responsible for the recognition of different individual mice.
Positive Information Processing in the Hippocampus
The researchers also revealed the presence of specific neurons in the CA1 region of the subject mouse’s hippocampus that processed positive information associated with different individual mice. Such neurons were found to respond when encountered with reward-associated individuals, which indicates that the CA1 region of the hippocampus plays a selectively crucial role in the formation of associative social memories.
Expanding on the Topic
The potential implications of the CCS-IBS study on the diagnosis and treatment of various brain disorders that result in social impairment could be crucial. Suppose social interaction, which is fundamental to the quality of life and mental well-being, can be improved by targeting these neurons. In that case, the implications for mental health treatment are enormously significant. For example, studies have shown that adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) struggle with social interactions and have difficulty recognizing facial cues. By targeting these neurons in the hippocampus, this issue could be rectified and social interaction improved.
In conclusion, the cortex’s hippocampus plays a vital role in forming and retaining associative memories of individuals, making the new discovery of hippocampal neurons even more significant. By recognizing each other, we can grow more comfortable with each other’s presence, trust, and communicate better, so the significance of this discovery for mental health treatments cannot be overstated.
Summary
The researchers from the Center for Cognition and Sociality (CCS) of the Institute of Basic Sciences (IBS) recently identified neurons in the hippocampus that allow individuals to recognize other people. By studying the hippocampus of mice, the researchers developed new behavioral methods and found that the CA1 region in the dorsal hippocampus played a crucial role in individual recognition and identified neurons responsible for processing positive information associated with different individual mice. Targeting these neurons could have important implications for the treatment of various brain disorders that cause difficulty in forming social relationships.
Additional Piece
The role of social interaction and the importance of awareness of self and others have been addressed significantly in psychological, sociological, and philosophical research. These past and present studies span across different fields such as neurology, computer science, and artificial intelligence. The significance of studies such as the CCS-IBS study cannot be overstated. The findings link the individual’s recognition of others to functional parts of the brain, providing neuroscientific evidence on how humans, as social animals, function.
At the heart of social interaction is the ability to traverse the fine line between healthy communication and unhealthy communication problems. As human beings, we are wired to crave company, and isolation can lead to dire consequences such as depression, anxiety, and a general lack of joy in life. Part of what makes social interaction so important is also the chemistry we have with the individuals present in the interaction.
The CCS-IBS study has revealed the presence of specific neurons responsible for the recognition of individuals, with a focus on the positive information that we associate with certain individuals. The neural pathway involved operates just like a reward system that registers not just the sight but also smell and presence of trusted individuals. There could be several implications for this discovery, including the ability to develop drugs that could target the build-up of social memory.
Biological building blocks such as the discovery of CA1 neurons are beginning to provide tangible evidence of sociological theories. By objectively determining which neurons fire and under what circumstances they fire, we can develop a more profound understanding of human behavior, especially in social situations.
In conclusion, the neuroscientific community has made significant progress in understanding how the brain facilitates social interaction. While we have made progress, more research is needed, especially concerning social impairment in various disorders. The CCS-IBS study raises more questions than it answers, and the scientific community’s journey to unraveling the brain’s mysteries goes on.
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Researchers from the Center for Cognition and Sociality (CCS) of the Institute of Basic Sciences (IBS) recently announced the discovery of neurons that allow us to recognize others. The research team discovered that the neurons that deal with information associated with different individuals are located in the CA1 region of the hippocampus.
Social animals, including humans, constantly interact with others. In this process, the ability to recognize the identity of the social counterpart, retrieve relevant information about them from memory, and update it based on current interaction is essential for establishing social relationships. However, there has been limited research into how these processes occur in the brain.
To answer this question, previous efforts have focused primarily on studies of the mouse brain, particularly the hippocampus. The hippocampus was thought to be the answer, as it is a brain structure that is well known to be responsible for memory formation. Within the hippocampus, the Cornu Ammonis (CA) fields, which are numbered CA1 to CA3, are involved in various functions related to memory and spatial processing and were therefore key research interests.
Until now, studies in mice on the neural mechanisms of individual recognition have focused primarily on the CA2 region of the hippocampus. However, previous studies have used behavioral experiments that only involve distinguishing unknown mice from familiar mice, making it difficult to interpret whether the results reflect the animal’s ability to truly perceive or recognize individual characteristics.
In this study, the IBS-CCS research team developed a new behavioral paradigm using mice to better investigate their ability to recognize other people. Their new method involved having the subject’s mouse associate specific individual mice with rewards and study their behavior after finding reward-associated and non-associated individuals.
Specifically, two mice were immobilized on a spinning disk and randomly presented to a subject mouse, which would recognize the neighbor through scent. Water is then delivered from the device to the rewarded mouse when it licks itself in response to the mouse associated with the reward, but not another. The researchers tried to determine if the subject mouse could discriminate between different individuals and analyzed brain cell activity during the experiment.
The challenge mice on the spinning disk were male littermates and the subject mice were already familiar with the challenge mice. This means that the subject mice distinguished between the challenge mice solely based on the unique characteristics of the challenge mice, suggesting the high reliability of the experimental results.
Using this behavioral paradigm, the researchers clearly demonstrated that the CA1 region of the dorsal hippocampus plays an essential role in individual recognition. For example, when the CA1 region of the hippocampus is suppressed using a neuroinhibitor, the subject mouse was unable to distinguish its neighbor. Furthermore, by using a two-photon imaging technique that allows real-time observation of neural cell activity in deep brain regions, the IBS-CCS team even identified specific neural cells in the CA1 region. of the hippocampus that is responsible for the recognition of individual mice.
This was an interesting addition to previous findings, which proposed that the dorsal CA2 region of the hippocampus is the brain area important for social memory, while reporting that the dorsal CA1 region does not play an important role.
Also, in the past, researchers believed that social memories in rodents only last for a short period of time and that they do not form long-term memories about individual subjects. However, the latest IBS-CCS study has shown that long-term memories about people can be formed in mice.
Dr. LEE Doyun, who led this research, said: “We have revealed for the first time how valuable information about others obtained through positive or negative interactions with them is represented and stored in our brains. In addition, this provides information important for understanding the role of our brains in building and developing human relationships through various social interactions.”
Beyond that, the researchers have also revealed the presence of specific neurons in the CA1 region of the subject mouse’s hippocampus that process positive information associated with different individual mice. An important part of forming a social relationship is assigning a positive or negative value to a social encounter with another individual and actualizing that value. For example, just as it is essential to develop a friendship with a particular individual, it is essential to evaluate how enjoyable and rewarding it was to interact with them.
These specific CA1 neurons were found to respond when encountered with reward-associated individuals. However, such reward expectancy responses were not observed when the subject was exposed to odors unrelated to social activity, such as citral or butanol. These findings indicate that the CA1 region of the hippocampus plays a selectively important role in the formation of associative social memories.
It is hoped that this new discovery could lead to a potential solution for the treatment of various brain disorders that cause difficulty in forming social relationships.
“Our results could be used to understand and propose treatment methods for mental disorders such as autism, which present abnormalities in brain functions involved in processing memories and information related to others,” explains Dr. Lee.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/06/230601160232.htm
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