Specific neurons map location in the human brain

The brain records our experiences about space and memory, enabling us to make fast decisions. Spatial cognition is represented by "place cells" and "grid cells" in the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex (located on the side of the brain). Individual neurons function as "memory-trace cells" that track spatial memory. Diseases like Alzheimer's may cause memory deficits by disrupting the activity of location cells.

To test how spatial location is coded in the brain, surgeons hooked implanted electrodes to neurons in neurosurgical patients. The patients were asked to remember locations in a virtual-reality (VR) environment. The "memory-trace cells" tuned their activity to a particular place. Acting like a GPS, the neurons recorded and memorized the position in space. The activity of these neurons unmistakably identified the location. 

In the brain, place cells and grid cells in the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex are one of the first regions affected by the onset of Alzheimer's disease. A recent study has found that these memory-specific individual neurons function as a kind of GPS. Memory-trace cells in the entorhinal cortex encode memory representations through a memory-specific rate code. These findings indicate that single neurons in the human entorhinal cortex change their spatial tuning to target relevant memories for retrieval.

Flexibility to change might improve our resilience to the disease.

Read the original article in Nature Neuroscience by Qasim and colleagues.

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The importance of sleep for your body and your mind

Sleep is so critical for our bodies and minds that sleep deprivation can cause death without any morphological changes to the brain. It strengthens the immune system and helps regulate metabolism. It can clear out toxins that build up in the brain and prevent neurodegenerative diseases. All phases of sleep, from the lightest slumber to the deepest unconsciousness, are essential processes that allow our minds and bodies to recover from the messiness of our day. Sleep also improves learning and memory. 

Sleep can also initiate unique neuronal firing patterns, which serve as templates for upcoming events. This way, our current mindset influences tomorrow’s psychology. 

Sleep deprivation makes us less intelligent, more forgetful. It damages our immune system, which increases the likelihood of disease. Abnormal sleep seems to play a role in many diseases like heart conditions, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s. Lack of sleep appears to damage gene function, trigger adverse hormone functions, premature aging, and even early death.

There are practical steps you can take to improve the quality of sleep. Spend time in sunlight or artificial bright light during the day, but soften the lights, especially blue light exposure in the evening. Limit the extent of daytime naps and go to bed at the same time every day. Invest in a good quality mattress and pillow and keep your bedroom temperature at a relatively cool temperature. Limit your food intake and vigorous exercise a few hours before bedtime to ensure a more restful sleep. 

My straightforward handbook, The Power of Joy, gives you the tools and advice you need to liberate yourself from your negativity and become the best version of yourself. 

                                                            

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Social change must go hand in hand with technological transformation

Since the formation of the first city-states in ancient Mesopotamia, social structures went through an impressive evolution in search of a progressive and democratic social structure. Because technological progress has been closely intertwined with social changes in the past, the breathtaking speed of technological transformation is indicative of an incoming social upheaval. Increasing social tension in many parts of the world indicates that only serious reforms can address the current economic and social problems.

The internet represents the roughness and lawlessness of the wild west. Patients records are not safe in Hospitals, interference from foreign governments taints democratic elections, and company security is uncertain, in spite of enormous investments. The stability of financial systems depends on government intervention.

We are at a threshold of a dramatic technological leap that requires unprecedented changes in the social structure. Automatization is about to replace tedious jobs with positions that require creativity and intelligent decision-making. The incoming block technologies will increase the safety and security of social institutions and financial systems. The combination of cheap energy and mechanization will make significant increases in GDP possible.

Hundred years ago, social security and access to health care gave dignity to the aging population. In the twenty-first century, we need to extend similar protection to everyone. A security net from catastrophic events, such as major diseases will reduce crime, it will reduce bureaucracy, and it will liberate the human intellect. To protect the social fabric, the introduction of the universal basic income is necessary, as well. I believe the above changes will liberate the phenomenal human intellect. Because we do not trust the security of our future, we devote immense mental power to cheat others and the system. Trust in our government institutions, companies, the internet, and each other is only possible by feeling underlying security in the future. When people work for the common good instead, we will achieve incredible progress.

My straightforward handbook, The Power of Joy, gives you the tools and advice you need to liberate yourself from your negativity and become the best version of yourself.

                                                            

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Mental Energy and the social brain

According to the philosopher Thomas Nagel, our greatest intellectual challenge is to explain the physical basis of mental processes. The physics of the mind is becoming a popular subject of scientific investigation. By integrating the animal's past, and present, the mind projects sensory experience to anticipate the future and produce motivation. 

The brain's self-regulation is based on its ground state, the so-called resting-state networks, which are dense connectivity hubs to integrate information. The continually changing brain state relies on the constancy of the resting-state. Stimulus evokes a repeating period, but the brain recovers its resting-state automatically. Every evoked cycle changes the complexity of the brain's neural network, which allows consideration of energy and information cycle in the brain. 

Mental energy or intrinsic motivation is a long-term ability based on mental fluidity that allows trust, belief, and confidence. It enables a consistent exertion of mental effort toward achievement. It increases future freedom, predicts enhanced performance, learning, and creativity, and it plays a vital role in personality development and wellness across life. Thus mental energy is essential for achievement.

The evoked cycle during positive emotions increases mental energy. It increases mental freedom, trust, immune function, and other parameters of health. Confidence and ambition are drivers of progress because ambitious people choose more challenging jobs, they solve more challenging problems and pick the hard, more thorough path toward success. 

During negative emotions, the cycle runs in the reverse direction and accumulates information. The information-rich states reconstruct the past and cause regret, rumination, and remorse. The reduction of mental energy causes anxiety, insecurity, and might play a role in psychiatric diseases, and depression. The process might be a detectable first signal before functional and anatomical changes. Publications by respected laboratories show that the loss of mental energy might be the harbinger of AD, schizophrenia, and immune problems. 

A happy mind is key to a healthy body.

The Power of Joy is your practical guide for self-betterment.  

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