Ovoid cells lively within the hippocampus of a mouse. Credit score: Cembrowski Lab/UBC College of Medication
Have a look round your own home and you will find your self surrounded by acquainted comforts—images of household and mates on the wall, well-worn sneakers by the door, a shelf adorned with journey mementos. Objects like these are etched into our reminiscence, shaping who we’re and serving to us navigate environments and every day life with ease. However how do these recollections type? And what if we may cease them from slipping away below a devastating situation like Alzheimer’s illness?
Scientists at UBC’s college of medication have simply uncovered an important piece of the puzzle. In a research revealed in Nature Communications, the researchers have found a brand new sort of mind cell that performs a central position in our capability to recollect and acknowledge objects.
Known as “ovoid cells,” these highly-specialized neurons activate every time we encounter one thing new, triggering a course of that shops these objects in reminiscence and permitting us to acknowledge them months—doubtlessly even years—later.
“Object recognition memory is central to our identity and how we interact with the world,” mentioned Dr. Mark Cembrowski, the research’s senior creator, and an affiliate professor of mobile and physiological sciences at UBC and investigator on the Djavad Mowafaghian Middle for Mind Well being.
“Knowing if an object is familiar or new can determine everything from survival to day-to-day functioning, and has huge implications for memory-related diseases and disorders.”
Hiding in plain sight
Named for the distinct egg-like form of their cell physique, ovoid cells are current in comparatively small numbers inside the hippocampus of people, mice and different animals.
Adrienne Kinman, a Ph.D. scholar in Dr. Cembrowski’s lab and the research’s lead creator, found the cells’ distinctive properties whereas analyzing a mouse mind pattern, when she observed a small cluster of neurons with extremely distinctive gene expression.
“They were hiding right there in plain sight,” mentioned Kinman. “And with further analysis, we saw that they are quite distinct from other neurons at a cellular and functional level, and in terms of their neural circuitry.”
UBC affiliate professor of mobile and physiological sciences Dr. Mark Cembrowski (left) and Ph.D. scholar Adrienne Kinman observe ovoid cells lively within the hippocampus of a mouse. Credit score: Cembrowski Lab/UBC College of Medication
To know the position ovoid cells play, Kinman manipulated the cells in mice so they might glow when lively contained in the mind. The workforce then used a miniature single-photon microscope to watch the cells because the mice interacted with their surroundings.
The ovoid cells lit up when the mice encountered an unfamiliar object, however as they grew used to it, the cells stopped responding. In different phrases, the cells had finished their jobs: the mice now remembered the objects.
“What’s remarkable is how vividly these cells react when exposed to something new. It’s rare to witness such a clear link between cell activity and behavior,” mentioned Kinman. “And in mice, the cells can remember a single encounter with an object for months, which is an extraordinary level of sustained memory for these animals.”
New insights for Alzheimer’s illness, epilepsy
The researchers at the moment are investigating the position that ovoid cells play in a variety of mind issues. The workforce’s speculation is that when the cells turn out to be dysregulated, both too lively or not lively sufficient, they could possibly be driving the signs of circumstances like Alzheimer’s illness and epilepsy.
“Recognition memory is one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease—you forget what keys are, or that photo of a person you love. What if we could manipulate these cells to prevent or reverse that?” mentioned Kinman.
“And with epilepsy, we’re seeing that ovoid cells are hyperexcitable and could be playing a role in seizure initiation and propagation, making them a promising target for novel treatments.”
For Dr. Cembrowski, discovering the extremely specialised neuron upends many years of typical pondering that the hippocampus contained solely a single sort of cell that managed a number of points of reminiscence.
“From a fundamental neuroscience perspective, it really transforms our understanding of how memory works,” he mentioned.
“It opens the door to the idea that there may be other undiscovered neuron types within the brain, each with specialized roles in learning, memory and cognition. That creates a world of possibilities that would completely reshape how we approach and treat brain health and disease.”
Extra info:
Atypical hippocampal excitatory neurons categorical and govern object reminiscence, Nature Communications (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-56260-8. www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-56260-8
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