Scientists win Nobel prize for discovering brain's 'inner GPS'

Date: Oct-07-2014 The Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden has awarded the 2014 Nobel Prize for

Physiology or Medicine to three scientists for discovering the brain's "inner GPS" - the system

of cells that help it work out where it is, how to get from A to B, and store the information

for future reference.

How does the brain map our surroundings and how does it help us

navigate our complex environment?

John O'Keefe - who holds British and American citizenships and is currently director of

University College London's Neural Circuits and Behavior center in the UK - receives one half of the

prize, while the other half is shared by Edvard I. Moser and May-Britt Moser - both Norwegian

citizens currently based in neuroscience institutes in Trondheim and who also happen to be

husband and wife.

Between them, this year's Nobel Laureates have solved a problem that has puzzled philosophers

and scientists for centuries: how does the brain map our surroundings and how does it help us

navigate our complex environment?

Their discovery of the brain's "inner GPS" shows that higher cognitive function has a

cellular basis.

It started in 1971 when John O'Keefe discovered the first component of the positioning

system. He found that a type of nerve cell in a part of the brain region called the hippocampus

was always activated when a rat was in a certain place in a room. And when the rat was in other

parts of the room, other nerve cells became active. He concluded these "place cells" constituted

a "map" of the room.

The next vital component of the brain's inner GPS came to light over three decades later in

2005, when Edvard and May-Britt Moser identified another type of nerve cell - which they called

"grid cells" - located in the entorhinal cortex that act as a coordinate system that enables

precise positioning and pathfinding.

Following this discovery, they then showed that between them, place cells and grid cells -

linked through circuits in the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex - help the brain determine

position in a space and to navigate it.

Although their discoveries occurred while working with rats in the laboratory, more recent

research with brain imaging techniques, as well as studies of patients who have brain surgery,

have shown that the human brain also has place and grid cells.

Discoveries signal key step in understanding cognitive processes

The contribution that the three Noble Laureates have made to this field represents a huge

step forward in our understanding of how groups of specialized cells work together to execute

higher cognitive functions.

Their work has helped to open new avenues for understanding other cognitive processes, such

as memory, thinking and planning.

The hippocampus and entorhinal cortex are often affected during the early stages of

Alzheimer's disease, and patients with the disease often lose their way and have difficulty

recognizing their environment.

Understanding the brain's inner GPS may help us better investigate the mechanisms behind the

devastating loss of spatial memory that affects people with Alzheimer's.

John O'Keefe was working at his home in London when he learned he had been awarded the

Medicine Prize. He says when he got the phone call, he thought, "Oh this couldn't possibly be,

this couldn't possibly be what I think it is," and then realized, "but of course it was."

When the awards were announced, Edvard Moser was on a plane to Munich. He says he didn't find

out until he came off the plane, and saw "a representative of the airport who came with flowers

and picked me up in a car."

Play the video below to watch the Nobel Prize announcement.

May-Britt Moser cried when she learned her news - which happened as she went between meetings

at work. She told a representative of NobelPrize.org in a telephone

interview, "I was in shock and I'm still in shock. This is so great."

John O'Keefe has been something of a mentor to the Mosers at some points. Edvard Moser said

in his telephone interview with NobelPrize.org that in 1996, while they were working in his lab,

John O'Keefe trained them in techniques they have been using since:

"The 3 months I spent in his lab are the most efficient learning period I ever had. I

learnt so much, and he took so much care of me and spent so much personal time on me, which

even, I got a desk in his office and I shared the same lab with him. So he has been a fantastic

mentor and it's extremely nice that we can now share the prize together."

When he died in 1895, the wealthy Swedish businessman, engineer and inventor Alfred Nobel

left most of his fortune - about $265m in today's money - to fund the Nobel Prizes, to be given

out each year without distinction of nationality.

Five annual Nobel Prizes have been awarded since 1901 for achievements in physics,

chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and peace. In 1969 a sixth was added, for

economic sciences. Up to 2013, the prizes have been awarded 561 times to 876 people and

organizations.

In 2013, three US-based scientists won the Nobel Prize for Medicine for unraveling the way that cells transport materials, such as

hormones and nerve transmitters. Their work offers insights into Alzheimer's, autism, diabetes

and other diseases.

Written by Catharine Paddock PhD

Not to be reproduced without permission.

Courtesy: Medical News Today Note: Any medical information available in this news section is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a health care professional.