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New Understanding of Brain Memories
Researchers have discovered a mechanism that may explain how the brain compresses
memories. This capability allows us to recall nearly all of what happened over several hours
or even a day, in a fraction of the time.

Experts believe understanding this previously unknown function in the brain can aid
research into schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorders, Alzheimers disease, and other
disorders.

In short, the new discover will enhance knowledge of any disease or condition where real
experiences and ones that exist only in the mind can become distorted.

The new mechanism compresses information needed for memory retrieval, imagination, or
planning and encodes it on a brain wave frequency thats separate from the one used for
recording real-time experiences.

Study findings are described in a cover article in the the journal Neuron.
Brain cells share different kinds of information with one another using a variety of different
brain waves analogous to the way radio stations broadcast on different frequencies.

Laura Colgin, an assistant professor of neuroscience, Chenguang Zheng, a postdoctoral

researcher, and their colleagues found that one of these frequencies allows us to play back
memories or envision future activities in fast forward.

The reason were excited about it is that we think this mechanism can help explain how you
can imagine a sequence of events youre about to do in a time-compressed manner, says
Colgin.

You can plan out those events and think about the sequences of actions youll do. And all of
that happens on a faster time scale when youre imagining it than when you actually go and
do those things.

In the brain, fast gamma rhythms encode memories about things that are happening right
now; these waves come rapidly one after another as the brain processes high-resolution
information in real time.

In the study, scientists learned that slow gamma rhythms used to retrieve memories of
the past, as well as imagine and plan for the future store more information on their longer
waves. This capacity contributes to the fast-forward effect as the mind processes many data
points with each wave.

Mental compression turns out to be similar to what happens in a computer when you
compress a file. Just like digital compression, when you replay a mental memory or imagine
an upcoming sequence of events, these thoughts will have less of the rich detail found in the
source material.

Researchers believe the finding has implications for medicine as well as for criminal justice
and other areas where memory reliability can be at issue.

Colgin notes that the research could also explain why people with schizophrenia who are
experiencing disrupted gamma rhythms have a hard time distinguishing between imagined
and real experiences.

Maybe they are transmitting their own imagined thoughts on the wrong frequency, the one
usually reserved for things that are really happening, says Colgin. That could have terrible
consequences.

Next, the researchers plan to use animals with neurological disorders similar to autism
spectrum disorders and Alzheimers disease in humans to better understand what role this
mechanism plays and explore ways to counteract it.

Source: The University of Texas at Austin

Human brain photo by shutterstock.
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About Rick Nauert PhD

Dr. Rick Nauert has over 25 years experience in clinical, administrative and academic
healthcare. He is currently an associate professor for Rocky Mountain University of Health
Professionals doctoral program in health promotion and wellness. Dr. Nauert began his
career as a clinical physical therapist and served as a regional manager for a publicly traded
multidisciplinary rehabilitation agency for 12 years. He has masters degrees in health-fitness
management and healthcare administration and a doctoral degree from The University of
Texas at Austin focused on health care informatics, health administration, health education
and health policy. His research efforts included the area of telehealth with a specialty in
disease management.
View all posts by Rick Nauert PhD
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APA Reference
Nauert PhD, R. (2016). New Understanding of Brain Memories. Psych Central. Retrieved on
January 29, 2016, from http://psychcentral.com/news/2016/01/15/new-understanding-ofbrain-memories/97690.html

Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 15 Jan 2016

Originally published on PsychCentral.com on 15 Jan 2016. All rights reserved.

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