Pattern Separation in humans in a virtual reality environment

RAMIREZ BUTAVAND, DANIELA; RODRÍGUEZ, MARÍA FLORENCIA; LAZO, MARCOS; CIFUENTES, MARÍA VIRGINIA; BEKINSCHTEIN, PEDRO; GARCÍA BAUZA, CRISTIAN; BALLARINI, FABRICIO

Congreso; XXXII CONGRESO ANUAL SAN 2017; 2017

The mechanism responsible for separating the components of memories into distinct and less easily confused complex memory representations is known as "pattern separation." The objective of this study is to investigate this mechanism in humans within a virtual reality environment, enabling us to design a task similar to the one studied in rodents in our laboratory. This task involves retrieving separate flags positioned at various angles and subsequently recognizing the middle flag.Preliminary results indicate that in sedentary individuals, there exists an angle at which it becomes challenging to differentiate the memories of flag locations due to their similarity. However, this is not the case for another angle. Consequently, the results from experiments in humans will complement those conducted concurrently in rodents, and vice versa.This translational research proposal undoubtedly has the potential to significantly advance our understanding of the biological underpinnings of human cognition, mental health, and policies aimed at enhancing cognitive function.