The brain has a powerful ability to remember and connect events separated in time. And now, in that new study in mice published in Neuron, scientists at Columbia’s Zuckerman Institute have cast light on how the brain can form lasting links.
The hippocampus—a small, seahorse-shaped region buried deep in the brain—is an important headquarters for learning and memory. Previous experiments in mice showed that disruption (中断) to the hippocampus leaves the animals with trouble learning to associate two events separated by tens of seconds.
“The traditional view has been that cells in the hippocampus keep up a level of continuous activity to associate such events,” said Dr. Ahmed, co-first author of the study. “Turning these cells off would thus disrupt learning.”
To test this view, the researchers imaged parts of the hippocampus of mice as the animals were exposed to two different stimuli (刺激物): a neutral (神经的) sound followed by a small but unpleasant puff of air. A fifteen-second delay separated the two events. The scientists repeated this experiment across several trials. Over time, the mice learned to associate the sound with the soon-to-follow puff of air. Using advanced microscopy, they recorded the activity of thousands of neurons (神经元) , a type of brain cell, in the animals’ hippocampus over the course of each trial for many days.
“We expected to see continuous neural activity that lasted during the fifteen-second gap, an indication of the hippocampus at work linking the auditory sound and the air puff,” said computational neuroscientist Stefano Fusi, PhD. “But when we began to analyze the data, we saw no such activity.” Instead, the neural activity recorded during the fifteen-second time gap was sparse (稀少的). Only a small number of neurons worked, and they did so seemingly at random.
To understand activity, they had to shift the way they analyzed data and use tools designed to make sense of random processes. Finally, the researchers discovered a complex pattern in the randomness: a style of mental computing that seems to be a remarkably efficient way that neurons store information.
“We were happy to see that the brain doesn’t maintain ongoing activity over all these seconds because that’s not the most efficient way to store information,” said Dr. Ahmed. “The brain seems to have a more efficient way to build this bridge.”
In addition to helping to map the circuitry involved in associative learning, these findings also provide a starting point to more deeply explore disorders, such as panic and post-traumatic stress disorder.
1.What can we learn about the hippocampus?
A.It weakens with the memory decline.
B.It is a brain region crucial for memory.
C.It serves as a tool of learning languages.
D.It is involved in the visual area of the brain.
2.The new study in mice indicates that ______.
A.continuous activity happens as expected
B.no neurons stay active at intervals of 15 seconds
C.a complex pattern helps the brain learn associations
D.neuronal information is stored in well-designed tools
3.From the last two paragraphs, we can infer that the findings ______.
A.inspire deeper explorations of disorders
B.provide evidence for language learning
C.build a bridge between different parts of the brain
D.help map some aspects of a person’s experiences
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1.If you are planning an exciting wild jungle adventure, which vacation package will you book?
A.Grand Ole Opry Package.
B.Hersheypark Vacation Package.
C.Branson's Fun for Kids Vacation.
D.SeaWorld San Antonio Vacation Package.
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B.various milk chocolates
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From poverty to a rocket scientist to the CEO of the Girl Scouts (女童子军), Sylvia Acevedo’s story is inspiring.
Sylvia Acevedo grew up on a dirt road in New Mexico. Her family was _______, living paycheck to paycheck. After an infectious disease _______in Las Cruces nearly killed her younger sister, her mother moved the family to a different _______. At her new school, a classmate _______her to become a Brownie Girl Scout. And from that moment, her life _______a new path.
The Girl Scout cookie program equips girls with basic _______knowledge. Women constantly in the sector said they got their _______through it. Sylvia Acevedo was there going door-to-door _______ cookies to all her neighbors. There’s a famous sales _______ that her troop leader gave her: you never leave the side of a sale ________ you’ve heard “no” three times, and to this day she ________ by that.
The Girl Scout experience in a way got girls ________. When they are earning different badges (徽章) , they have all those job skills that are ________related to what they’ve learned. On one camping trip, Acevedo’s troop leader saw her looking up at the ________—she didn’t know that there were planets. Her troop leader ________the Big Dipper, the Little Dipper and a few planets. Later, when the girls were ________ badges, Acevedo’s leader remembered her ________with the stars and suggested she try for her science badge. She went on to get a master’s in ________ from Stanford University, then became a rocket scientist with NASA, and then, in 2016, was appointed to ________ the Girl Scouts.
What the Girl Scouts taught her was determination and resilience (适应力) and she has kept that ________in her life ever since.
1.A.large B.happy C.poor D.close
2.A.control B.outbreak C.symptom D.victim
3.A.project B.neighbourhood C.schoolyard D.division
4.A.convinced B.advised C.forced D.allowed
5.A.took up B.took in C.took off D.took on
6.A.political B.cultural C.financial D.religious
7.A.start B.way C.head D.vote
8.A.allocating B.selling C.making D.tasting
9.A.campaign B.figure C.program D.technique
10.A.after B.while C.until D.since
11.A.lives B.gets C.passes D.judges
12.A.adopted B.hired C.noticed D.supported
13.A.gradually B.hopefully C.closely D.loosely
14.A.trees B.birds C.stars D.tents
15.A.pointed out B.ruled out C.sorted out D.brought out
16.A.wearing B.donating C.counting D.earning
17.A.satisfaction B.association C.combination D.fascination
18.A.engineering B.marketing C.teaching D.nursing
19.A.back B.head C.fund D.check
20.A.dream B.promise C.lesson D.standard
Lisa complained it was _______, having to go upstairs to make the coffee every time.
A.as clear as day B.a shot in the dark C.a pain in the neck D.as easy as pie
As a matter of fact, all people, ______they are young or old, are required to be citizens of high ideals, strict discipline, good education and communist morality.
A.no matter B.however C.whatever D.whether
The Internet is one of the ways these feelings are conveyed and perhaps never before ______so much to connect different peoples and nations.
A.did it serve B.it has served C.was it served D.has it served
