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Published on January 15, 2025
MIT Brainiacs Crack Code of Memory Storage, Placing Memories Mapped in Revolutionary StudySource: Unsplash/Shawn Day

MIT researchers have created a new model explaining how certain brain cells help store memories. The model shows how place and grid cells work together to form a memory scaffold, offering new insights into how we connect places and events in our memory. This could advance both AI and our understanding of human memory, as stated by MIT News.

A study led by Professor Ila Fiete at MIT introduces a new way the brain might store episodic memories, which are tied to specific experiences. The research suggests that grid cells, which help with spatial navigation, work with place cells in the hippocampus to create an "index" of memory. This index marks patterns in grid cells as placeholders for memories, while the actual details are stored in the sensory cortex. Fiete said, “It’s a foundation to build on to understand the nature of episodic memory. That’s the thing I’m really excited about,” according to MIT News.

MIT researchers Sarthak Chandra and Sugandha Sharma have developed a model to better understand human memory, with potential applications in AI and conditions like Alzheimer's disease. Their research explains the "memory palaces" technique used in memory competitions, which helps people remember large amounts of information by linking it to familiar structures. The study, funded by organizations like the U.S. Office of Naval Research and the National Science Foundation, also aims to explore how episodic memories become "semantic" memory in the brain, a process still not fully understood, as reported by MIT News.

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