Neurons responsible for remembering faces have been identified in the brain

Scientists have searched brain cells that can explain the glimpse of recognition that we all feel when we see familiar faces. Neurons are nicknamed “Grandma Neurons” because a flash of confession occurs with a very familiar face like our grandmother. Cells are described as an intersection of perceptions and sensory memories and can prioritize important faces over others. 

While scientists have searched for cells, it has proven difficult to find. However, the researchers now reveal the class of neurons in the temporal pole area of ​​the brain that connects perceptions to face long-term memory. It’s not enough grandma’s neurons sought because it’s not a single cell. However, it is a cell population that collectively remembers the face.

This study is the first to explain how the brain remembers the face of loved ones. Winrich Freiwald’s researcher, the Head of the Rockefeller Laboratory of the nervous system, said that in the corner of the brain that was unclear and issued, scientists had found the closest thing to Grandma’s grandmother in the form of cells connecting facial perception. The researchers noted that the idea of ​​grandmother neurons first appeared in the 1960s as theoretical brain cells that would encode special concepts and complexes alone.

That thought there is one neuron for someone’s grandmother’s memory, one for mom, and so on. Scientists have found many sensory neurons that specialize in processing facial information for years and many memory cells are dedicated to storing data from personal meetings. However, grandma’s grandmother or even a hybrid cell that can connect vision to memory has never been found.

The team has found that neurons in the TP area are very selective, responding to the faces seen by the subject before being stronger than foreign faces. Neurons are also very fast able to discriminate between known and unknown faces to process images. The researchers found cells responding with three times the power for the familiar faces compared to foreign faces even though the subject had seen a foreign face many times on the screen.

This team believes it can show the importance of knowing someone directly. Cells in the TP region behave such as sensory cells with a reliable and fast response to visual stimuli and acting as memory cells. The researchers say cell capabilities to respond to brain stimuli have been seen before reflecting changes in the brain as a result of past meetings.