U.S. researchers develop new technique to see pathway in human brain

This undated photograph, released on April 18, 2010, shows a conformal, neural electrode array wrapped onto a model of the brain. (Xinhua/Reuters File Photo)

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Using a new technique, U.S. researchers said Tuesday they saw for the first time a pathway in the human brain to the area that stores memories.

The discovery of the so-called Perforant Path could speed up diagnoses of Alzheimer's disease, said Craig Stark, the principal investigator and interim director of the Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory at University of California, Irvine.

The new technique offers higher-resolution images from a MRI machine, enabling the researchers to find the long-hidden section in the brain, according to Stark.

"We've long known this is one of the main connections between two portions of the brain responsible for episodic memory," he said.

"The problem has been that while we can look at it in a rat after dissecting the brain, or in non-human primates, but to actually see it in humans, and, more importantly, in perfectly healthy humans in a non-invasive way is something we've never been able to do until now."

The findings will help scientists better understand how aging affects the brain's retrieval of memories, Stark said.

"We know a lot about how rats change with age, but we know a lot less about how human brains change as they age," he said.

But monitoring the Perforant Path in the brains of volunteers ranging in age from 18 to 89 over the past year on the Irvine campus has confirmed for scientists that much of the research on rats is relevant, he said.

Just like with rats, the deterioration of the Perforant Path in the human brain affects how well one remembers, Stark said.

He said the discovery will be significant for Alzheimer's patients because the earlier it is diagnosed, the better physicians can treat those afflicted with the disease.

"If a drug company has a promising new drug they'll want to give it to people in the earliest stages," Stark said. "The earlier you start the better off you are."

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