Scientists learn more about working memory

NEW YORK, June 11 (UPI) -- A U.S. study involving goldfish has shed light on the human memory process by unveiling an interplay of cells in one of the brain's memory centers.

Scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College say their experiments identified a mechanism involved in a form of short-term recall known as "working memory." Humans rely on working memory to keep track of faces, names and other information, distinct from longer-term memories.

"We've now identified a mechanism that can organize the activity of groups of cells involved in this important form of recall," said lead researcher Emre Aksay, assistant professor of computational neuroscience. "Furthermore, because deficits in working memory are often a precursor of schizophrenia, drugs that target this mechanism might someday help fight that debilitating disease."

The study by Aksay, David Tank of Princeton University and Mark Goldman of Wellesley College has been published in the journal Nature Neuroscience.