New research published in Nature reveals that the brain can form engrams for cold experiences, enabling the body to regulate temperature and metabolism effectively. Led by Professor Tomas Ryan from Trinity College Dublin, this study indicates that remembering cold sensations is crucial for maintaining a stable body temperature of 37C. By training mice to associate cold exposure with specific visual cues, researchers demonstrated that these memories influence the mice's ability to produce heat, highlighting the brain's adaptability in response to temperature changes.
"It is important that we humans remember cold experiences in our brains, in order to control our metabolism as temperatures change," said Prof Ryan.
The scientists decided to train mice to associate being cold, at 4C, with visual clues the researchers placed in their environment that the mice would only see when they were experiencing this cold.
This latest research, however, is the first time that scientists have shown that the brain can lay down memories of an experience of cold.
Over the past decade and a half or so neuroscientists have discovered engrams for all kinds of memories in the mouse brain, such as memories of fear, pleasure and pain.
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