How does the brain protect its memory from forgetting? A new discovery reveals the secret.
AlEtihad (nprofile…yefn)
A recent study published in the journal Nature has shown how the brain avoids catastrophic forgetting - the degradation or erasure of old memories when forming new ones. The researchers found that the brain processes old and new memories in separate stages during sleep, preventing interference and maintaining memory stability. The study also showed that the brain replays recent experiences during deep sleep, reactivating the neural signals that occurred during the original experience, which consolidates these memories and prepares them for long-term storage. The researchers observed that the size of the pupils in rats changes during deep sleep in one-minute cycles. The neural recordings showed that most replay of new memories occurs when the pupils are small. The study used a technique called optogenetics to confirm these results, which allows scientists to control neural activity. After training rats to find a hidden reward, the researchers silenced neural activity during different stages of sleep. The results were clear: when silencing activity during the small-pupil stage, the rats completely forgot the location. However, when silencing activity during the large-pupil stage, the rats retained their memories completely. The study reveals a dual system for consolidating memories, where the small-pupil stage is responsible for consolidating new memories, and the large-pupil stage reinforces old memories formed in previous days. This dual system allows the brain to integrate new knowledge with the preservation of previous memories without degrading them. In addition to its importance in understanding brain mechanisms, the study suggests that its findings can be applied to artificial intelligence. These mechanisms could inspire algorithms that reduce catastrophic forgetting in artificial neural networks, potentially improving the performance of AI technologies in the future.
https://www.aletihad.ae/news/%D8%AB%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%A9/4542059/%D9%83%D9%8A%D9%81-%D9%8A%D8%AD%D9%85%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%BA-%D8%B0%D8%A7%D9%83%D8%B1%D8%AA%D9%87-%D9%85%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%86%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%A7%D9%86--%D8%A7%D9%83%D8%AA%D8%B4%D8%A7%D9%81-%D8%AC%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%AF-%D9%8A%D9%83%D8%B4%D9%81-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%B1
A recent study published in the journal Nature has shown how the brain avoids catastrophic forgetting - the degradation or erasure of old memories when forming new ones. The researchers found that the brain processes old and new memories in separate stages during sleep, preventing interference and maintaining memory stability. The study also showed that the brain replays recent experiences during deep sleep, reactivating the neural signals that occurred during the original experience, which consolidates these memories and prepares them for long-term storage. The researchers observed that the size of the pupils in rats changes during deep sleep in one-minute cycles. The neural recordings showed that most replay of new memories occurs when the pupils are small. The study used a technique called optogenetics to confirm these results, which allows scientists to control neural activity. After training rats to find a hidden reward, the researchers silenced neural activity during different stages of sleep. The results were clear: when silencing activity during the small-pupil stage, the rats completely forgot the location. However, when silencing activity during the large-pupil stage, the rats retained their memories completely. The study reveals a dual system for consolidating memories, where the small-pupil stage is responsible for consolidating new memories, and the large-pupil stage reinforces old memories formed in previous days. This dual system allows the brain to integrate new knowledge with the preservation of previous memories without degrading them. In addition to its importance in understanding brain mechanisms, the study suggests that its findings can be applied to artificial intelligence. These mechanisms could inspire algorithms that reduce catastrophic forgetting in artificial neural networks, potentially improving the performance of AI technologies in the future.
https://www.aletihad.ae/news/%D8%AB%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%A9/4542059/%D9%83%D9%8A%D9%81-%D9%8A%D8%AD%D9%85%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%BA-%D8%B0%D8%A7%D9%83%D8%B1%D8%AA%D9%87-%D9%85%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%86%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%A7%D9%86--%D8%A7%D9%83%D8%AA%D8%B4%D8%A7%D9%81-%D8%AC%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%AF-%D9%8A%D9%83%D8%B4%D9%81-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%B1