Dinesh jain
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US-British scientist John O'Keefe and
Norwegian husband and wife Edvard Moser and
May-Britt Moser have won the Nobel Prize in
medicine for discoveries of cells that
constitute a positioning system in the brain.
The Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska institute
says their discoveries have helped explain how
the brain creates "a map of the space
surrounding us and how we can navigate our
way through a complex environment.", IANS
reported.
Here is the full press release of the prize
announcement
The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet
has today decided to award
The 2014 Nobel Prize in Physiology or
Medicine
with one half to
John O´Keefe
and the other half jointly to
May-Britt Moser and Edvard I. Moser
How do we know where we are? How can we
find the way from one place to another? And
how can we store this information in such a
way that we can immediately find the way the
next time we trace the same path? This yearÂ
´s Nobel Laureates have discovered a
positioning system, an "inner GPS" in the brain
that makes it possible to orient ourselves in
space, demonstrating a cellular basis for higher
cognitive function.
In 1971, John O´Keefe discovered the first
component of this positioning system. He
found that a type of nerve cell in an area of
the brain called the hippocampus that was
always activated when a rat was at a certain
place in a room. Other nerve cells were
activated when the rat was at other places. OÂ
´Keefe concluded that these "place cells"
formed a map of the room.
More than three decades later, in 2005, May-
Britt and Edvard Moser discovered another key
component of the brain's positioning system.
They identified another type of nerve cell,
which they called "grid cells", that generate a
coordinate system and allow for precise
positioning and pathfinding. Their subsequent
research showed how place and grid cells
make it possible to determine position and to
navigate.
The discoveries of John O´Keefe, May-Britt
Moser and Edvard Moser have solved a
problem that has occupied philosophers and
scientists for centuries - how does the brain
create a map of the space surrounding us and
how can we navigate our way through a
complex environment?
3 get Nobel in medicine for finding brain's GPS
Norwegian husband and wife Edvard Moser and
May-Britt Moser have won the Nobel Prize in
medicine for discoveries of cells that
constitute a positioning system in the brain.
The Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska institute
says their discoveries have helped explain how
the brain creates "a map of the space
surrounding us and how we can navigate our
way through a complex environment.", IANS
reported.
Here is the full press release of the prize
announcement
The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet
has today decided to award
The 2014 Nobel Prize in Physiology or
Medicine
with one half to
John O´Keefe
and the other half jointly to
May-Britt Moser and Edvard I. Moser
How do we know where we are? How can we
find the way from one place to another? And
how can we store this information in such a
way that we can immediately find the way the
next time we trace the same path? This yearÂ
´s Nobel Laureates have discovered a
positioning system, an "inner GPS" in the brain
that makes it possible to orient ourselves in
space, demonstrating a cellular basis for higher
cognitive function.
In 1971, John O´Keefe discovered the first
component of this positioning system. He
found that a type of nerve cell in an area of
the brain called the hippocampus that was
always activated when a rat was at a certain
place in a room. Other nerve cells were
activated when the rat was at other places. OÂ
´Keefe concluded that these "place cells"
formed a map of the room.
More than three decades later, in 2005, May-
Britt and Edvard Moser discovered another key
component of the brain's positioning system.
They identified another type of nerve cell,
which they called "grid cells", that generate a
coordinate system and allow for precise
positioning and pathfinding. Their subsequent
research showed how place and grid cells
make it possible to determine position and to
navigate.
The discoveries of John O´Keefe, May-Britt
Moser and Edvard Moser have solved a
problem that has occupied philosophers and
scientists for centuries - how does the brain
create a map of the space surrounding us and
how can we navigate our way through a
complex environment?
3 get Nobel in medicine for finding brain's GPS
