Neurons in a key area of the brain have different functions based on their exact genetic identity, and understanding this diversity could lead to better understanding of the brain’s computational flexibility and memory capacity, potentially informing disease treatment options, Cornell researchers report in a new study.
Pyramidal cells in the CA1 region of the hippocampus, once thought to be a uniform collection of neurons, have recently been found to be highly diverse. But the role of this diversity in cognitive functions had not been closely examined until now.
“Most memory studies assume the hippocampus and the cortex are like black boxes — monolithic structures, homogeneous sets of neurons,” said co-senior author Antonio Fernandez-Ruiz, assistant professor of neurobiology and behavior, and Nancy and Peter Meinig Family Investigator in the Life Sciences, in the College of Arts and…
