[HN Gopher] A neural code for time and space in the human brain ...
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       A neural code for time and space in the human brain [pdf]
        
       Author : bookofjoe
       Score  : 44 points
       Date   : 2024-03-10 16:36 UTC (6 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.cell.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.cell.com)
        
       | itsthecourier wrote:
       | So they found the probable place where neurons dealing spatial
       | and temporary matters are located?
        
         | echelon wrote:
         | > Our study reveals neurons in the MTL and mPFC that encode
         | time and space during exploration in a virtual environment for
         | fixed durations. Time cells activated at rest in the absence of
         | movement or other external contextual change, while distinct
         | time cells and place cells emerged during navigation and ex-
         | hibited divergent responses to changing tasks. These results
         | demonstrate a neuron-level code for spatiotemporal context in
         | the human brain, in which time and space are simultaneously
         | represented but not wholly conjoined.
         | 
         | Hack for skimming papers:
         | 
         | 1. Read the abstract. It's short and will tell you what the
         | paper investigates. If it's too much jargon, skip it and come
         | back.
         | 
         | 2. Skip the entire paper and read the "discussion" or
         | "conclusion" near the end. This will pretty much tell you what
         | the paper is saying, typically in more familiar language.
         | 
         | 3. Go back and re-read the abstract.
         | 
         | 4. If you're still interested, read the figures.
         | 
         | 5. If this paper is up your alley, now you can read the whole
         | paper with context and can appreciate the methods of
         | investigation.
        
       | kensai wrote:
       | Formidable work. But as always, let's wait until it's confirmed
       | from other groups. I wonder if AI was fed with advancements in
       | understanding of neural code: would that speed up the coming
       | Singularity?
        
       | jegp wrote:
       | Is this novel? Spatial codes have been known for long and neuron
       | (populations) are known to code for time [1]. That reference also
       | states that "Neurons that respond selectively to the temporal and
       | spatio-temporal structure of sensory stimuli have also been
       | identified in the auditory system of birds and mammals". Doesn't
       | that pre-empt the conclusion that "Thus, the brain can represent
       | time and space as overlapping but dissociable dimensions".
       | 
       | [1]:
       | https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rstb.2012.046...
        
         | neuronerdgirl wrote:
         | It does not, just that both dimensions are coded for in some
         | way. Per the current article, temporal and spatial codes have
         | been previously studied in isolation, so it was not known if or
         | how they might be intertwined. This has elucidated new nuances
         | of that relationship.
        
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