The Nobel prize in medicine went to three researchers who found the locus of the brain’s inner GPS, or what enables spacial orientation. This research may lead to advances in Alzheimer’s research. (I’m worried since I find I don’t navigate so well…)
STOCKHOLM — A U.S.-British scientist who grew up in the South Bronx and a husband-and-wife research team from Norway won the Nobel Prize in medicine Monday for discovering the brain’s navigation system — the inner GPS that helps us find our way in the world — revelations that could lead to advances in diagnosing Alzheimer’s.
The research by John O’Keefe, May-Britt Moser and Edvard Moser represents a “paradigm shift” in neuroscience that could help researchers understand the sometimes severe spatial memory loss associated with Alzheimer’s disease, the Nobel Assembly said.
“This year’s Nobel laureates have discovered a positioning system, an ‘inner GPS’ in the brain, that makes it possible to orient ourselves in space,” the assembly said.
