Not all memory functions are handled by the same type of neuron. Research published in Nature Communications identified a previously unknown class of neuron in the hippocampus, the region known as the brain’s memory center, that is dedicated solely to object memory.

“Ovoid” neurons, named for their shape, were found to play a crucial role in recognizing objects over both short and long time periods. Unlike the pyramidal neurons that process spatial information like remembering a location, ovoid neurons activate only when encountering new objects and are silent when seeing familiar objects, even months later.

Researchers from the University of British Columbia used a technique that allows neurons to be activated or silenced with light in mice trained in an object-recognition task. When ovoid neurons were silenced, mice were unable to recognize objects they had previously seen, effectively “erasing” object memories. When the ovoid neurons were artificially activated, mice showed a strong preference for familiar objects.

This discovery challenges the long-held belief that the hippocampus flexibly encodes both spatial and non-spatial information. Instead, the brain appears to have separate, specialized circuits for different types of memory. This could have profound implications for neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, where memory loss often affects object recognition before spatial memory.

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