Echoes in the brain open a window on yesterday

• Autores: Douglas Heaven
• Localización: New scientist, ISSN 0262-4079, Nº. 2924, 2013, pág. 9
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • Studies have shown that it is possible to use brain activity to detect simple thoughts or even what image someone is looking at. But this is the first time activity reflecting the past has been observed in humans. Rafael Malach at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel and his colleagues wondered whether the activity might in fact be a kind of echo. To test the idea, the team compared fMRI scans of 20 people taken before, during and after a period of intense cognitive activity. They focused on a region of the brain called the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, which is linked to decision-making and volition. The team found that patterns of firing neurons observed during the concentration task could still be seen when the brain was idle--even though they had not been active before the task. They took a further scan 24 hours later, again while the participants' brains were resting. Remarkably, the pattern was even stronger then.