They practically found the answer for the question: “How does the brain create a map of the space surrounding us and how can we navigate our way through a complex environment?” What they discovered is like a GPS in our brain, that makes it possible to know where we are and find our way.
This was a long research, during dozens years. The first component of the positioning system was found in 1971 by John O’Keefe, who is now director at the centre in neural circuits and behavior at University College London. After many years, his colleagues May-Britt and Edvard Moser , from scientific institutes in the Norwegian town of Trondheim ,discovered earlier in the XXI Century cells involved in the operation of the “navigation system.” The discovery does not have immediate implications for new medicines but can explain some aspects of major illnesses like Alzheimer and dementia.
