UCLA researchers have developed the first wearable device to record the activity of individual neurons in a person’s brain while they move freely. According to a study published Feb.
Study shows how human brains navigate physical space and keep track of others location
For the first time, scientists have recorded how our brains navigate physical space and keep track of others location. Researchers used a special backpack to wirelessly monitor the brain waves of epilepsy patients as each one walked around an empty room hunting for a hidden, two-foot spot.
In an article published in
Nature, the scientists report that the waves flowed in a distinct pattern suggesting that each individual s brain had mapped out the walls and other boundaries.
Interestingly, each participant s brain waves flowed in a similar manner when they sat in the corner of the room and watched someone else walk around, suggesting these waves were also used to track other people s movements. The study was part of the NIH s Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies® (BRAIN) Initiative.
How our brains track where we and others go
As COVID cases rise, physically distancing yourself from other people has never been more important. Now a new UCLA study reveals how your brain navigates places and monitors someone else in the same location.
Published Dec. 23 in Nature, the findings suggest that our brains generate a common code to mark where other people are in relation to ourselves. We studied how our brain reacts when we navigate a physical space - first alone and then with others, said senior author Nanthia Suthana, the Ruth and Raymond Stotter Chair in Neurosurgery and an assistant professor of neurosurgery and psychiatry at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior.
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IMAGE: Scientists used a special backpack to study for the first time how a person s brain navigates space and tracks the location of others. The study was funded by the NIH s. view more
Credit: Courtesy of Suthana lab, UCLA.
For the first time, scientists have recorded how our brains navigate physical space and keep track of others location. Researchers used a special backpack to wirelessly monitor the brain waves of epilepsy patients as each one walked around an empty room hunting for a hidden, two-foot spot. In an article published in
Nature, the scientists report that the waves flowed in a distinct pattern suggesting that each individual s brain had mapped out the walls and other boundaries. Interestingly, each participant s brain waves flowed in a similar manner when they sat in the corner of the room and watched someone else walk around, suggesting these waves were also used to track other people s movements. The study was part of the NIH s Brain Resea