A formidable first for researchers at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute: the prestigious journal Neuron has published the latest work by the team of Dr. Sylvain Williams on the neuronal activity of the hippocampus, a brain region that is crucial for memory.

Dr. Williams’ team conducted a study to understand which types of neurons are responsible for coordinating hippocampal theta waves, which are responsible for creating new memories and which become abnormal in Alzheimer’s patients.

The team focused their study on a neural ensemble called "basket neurons" that can inhibit, and therefore synchronize, thousands of hippocampal neurons simultaneously. To manipulate the activity of these basket neurons, they used optogenetics, a very recent technique that controls neurons with light. In addition to helping us better understand the mechanisms of memory, the manipulation of neural networks with optogenetics opens new doors for the treatment of memory impairments.

Full paper
www.cell.com/neuron/abstract/S0896-6273%2815%2900434-1