New Type of Brain Cell That Assists in Distance Detection Discovered

Researchers at the University of Central London have found a type of brain cell sensitive to the distance and direction of objects that can store their locations on our brain maps. Their findings were published in Nature Neuroscience. 

Lead researcher Steven Poulter says, "The discovery of vector trace cells is particularly important as the area of the brain they are found in is one of the first to be attacked by brain disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, which could explain why a common symptom and key early 'warning sign' is the losing or misplacement of objects."

The team found that vector trace cells connect to creative brain networks, allowing us to plan our actions in the mind of our eye. “Vector trace cells acting together likely allow us to recreate the spatial relationships between ourselves and objects, and between the objects in a scene, even when those objects are not directly visible to us," he adds. 

"The idea that loss or change of such cells might be an early biomarker of disease could lead to earlier diagnosis and more effective therapies for one of the most intractable medical conditions," he concludes.