Brain can not distinguish horizontal movement of the vertical movement

Spider-Man crawling on the vertical walls, would have felt quite comfortable, as it turns out, for the brain is no difference between the movement in the horizontal plane, inclined or vertical. Experiments on rats allowed to realize that tracking movement, the height coordinate brain simply ignores.

Brain landmark with the help of two types of neurons. Some of them, the so-called "places of neurons' learn specific environment in which the rat. And to make a real map of the area, the brain also uses the grid-neurons (neurons latticed), which create a spatial grid.

All the properties of neurons in place and latticed neurons were studied on a flat surface, that is, cells were fixed with only two spatial coordinates. But we live in three dimensions, so before scientists inevitably the question arose of how the brain evaluates the height. How to behave "coordinate" neurons when the animal is moved vertically, as will differ, for example, to "high" from the position "a very high»?

As the researchers write in the journal Nature Neuroscience, they failed to find any differences in the latticed cells went there a rat on the floor or climb.

Almost as behaved and hippocampal neurons place. Given that their task - to celebrate the unique situation, one would expect that they will be fairly rapidly respond to changes in altitude, because the situation varies greatly. However, neurons place very slightly reacted to the changes in the "third dimension". That is, they felt that high, but to distinguish between "high" from "very high" were not able to. Most likely, the height information they received from some other, non-specific sources.

In general, the researchers conclude, the brain is easier to perceive as a horizontal vertical. The fact that a person is not a problem that can only be explained by some by additional mechanisms, linked perhaps to the activities of the new cortex.

Source: science.compulenta.ru

via factroom.ru