Bonn, Feb. 19 -- Spatial navigation and memory are essential components of our daily lives. Without these talents, we would struggle to navigate our surroundings and remember previous experiences. However, the neural foundation of spatial memory remains poorly known.

A study group directed by Prof. Lukas Kunz, who just joined the University Hospital Bonn (UKB), has discovered fresh information on this knowledge gap. He discovered, along with scientists from New York and Freiburg, that different types of nerve cells become active simultaneously during spatial memory and are coordinated by brain waves ("ripples"). The findings have now been published in the journal Nature Neuroscience.

Associative memory allows different pieces of informa...