Losing your sense of direction is one of the earliest and most distressing signs of advanced Alzheimer’s disease. Now, a new study from the University of Michigan sheds light on a unique neuron that may hold the key to understanding why this happens.
The retrosplenial cortex is a brain region that has long been linked to spatial orientation and is known to be impaired early on in people with Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers have now identified a unique neuron with an equally unique function in the retrosplenial cortex. They found that specialized neurons can encode an individual’s sense of direction at all times, regardless of whether the individual is sitting still or on the move.
“This cell type appears uniquely evolved to solve a basic survival problem: knowing where you are and which way you’re facing at all times—whether you’re sitting in your office or out for a run,” said Omar Ahmed, associate professor of psychology and senior author of the study, which is published in the journal Progress in Neurobiology.
The research, Ahmed noted, provides a mechanistic explanation for why animals can subconsciously compute and remember where they are in their environment. This trait is critical to survival: it allows animals to track where they are, where the escape exit is (in case a predator is looming, for example, or in case of fire), and immediately turn toward the exit and take the shortest escape route.
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The study’s co-authors are Izabela Jedrasiak-Cape, Chloe Rybicki-Kler, Isla Brooks, Megha Ghosh, Ellen Brennan, Sameer Kailasa, Tyler Ekins and Alan Rupp.
Read the complete article in Michigan News
