September 2003
Video games help researchers monitor brains cells
Israeli and American researchers have discovered a new way to investigate future treatments for memory disorders such as Alzheimer's disease placing sensors on patients' scalps to monitor brain activity while they play video games.
Alzheimer's affects more than four million Americans and this number is expected to rise dramatically in coming years as the U.S. population ages.
Prof. Itzhak Fried, of the neurology departments at University of California, Los Angeles, and Tel Aviv University and director of the functional neurosurgery unit at Tel Aviv's Ichilov Hospital, headed the team, which published their findings in the latest issue of the journal Nature.
Using a video game featuring a yellow taxi, virtual city and human players with electrodes embedded in their memory banks, the team have discovered how three types of brain cells interact to help people navigate the real world.
While they played the video game, the team evaluated the responses of seven epileptic patients with electrodes already embedded in their brains to determine the focus of their seizures before undergoing surgery.
The research team, which included University of California Los Angeles Prof. Michael Kahana and Brandeis University graduate student Arne Ekstrom, recorded responses of single neurons in the patients using data from their intracranial electrodes.
According to the researchers, the findings offer unique information about how human memory works and present new avenues of investigation for treatment of memory disorders such as Alzheimer's disease.
The research, which evaluated the responses of patients already attached to EEG monitors to determine the focus of epileptic seizures, also demonstrates how clinical patient settings offer unique opportunities to learn about the mind and body.
Researchers monitored signals from individual brain cells as patients played a computer game in which they explored a virtual town in a taxi. The players searched for passengers who appeared in random locations, and delivered them to designated stores.
"Our findings provide the first glimpse at the visually based neural code used by humans to form spatial maps of their environment and navigate from location to location," said senior author Fried.. "Damage to these groups of cells can cause people to lose their ability to negotiate their environment and remember new surroundings."
"The success of this project is also an important illustration of the value of clinical patient settings in learning about the mind and body," said Fried. "The understanding gained from such studies may eventually help future patients with brain disorders effecting the brain memory systems."
The Nature article identifies distinct cells that help humans determine 1) where they are (place), 2) what they see (view) and 3) what they are looking for (goal). The research team found 'place' cells primarily in the hippocampus region of the brain and 'view' cells primarily in the parahippocampal region. Cells throughout the frontal and temporal lobes responded to the subjects? navigational goals and to the interaction of place, view and goal.
These results suggest that our navigation system preserves some elements of the same system used by other mammals, but also has some features unique to us because of our highly developed visual system.
"Our study shows how cells in the human brain rapidly learn to respond to complex features of our environment. One of the most intriguing discoveries was that some cells respond to combinations of place, view and goal. For example, we found cells that responded to viewing an object only when that object was a goal," said Kahana, an expert in the neurophysiology of human spatial navigation.
"Our results suggest that our navigation system preserves some elements of the same system used by other mammals, but also has some features unique to us because of our highly developed visual system," said Ekstrom, who is a doctoral student at Brandeis University.
Previous research identified "place" cells in the hippocampus of rodents, until now perhaps the most striking example of a correlation between brain cell activity and complex behavior in mammals. These cells increase the rate that their neurons fire electrically when the animal moves across specific portions of its surroundings.
Experts have regarded the hippocampus and the parahippocampal region as keys to human navigation, but until now it remained unclear whether rodent-like place coding occurs in humans, or whether human navigation is driven by a different neural mechanism based on vision. This study shows that place cells are indeed important in humans, but that other cells aid in navigation by coding for landmarks (view) and the intended goal.
Courtesy http://www.israel21c.org/
Israeli musicians win UNESCO prize in Muslim country
For the first time in the history of musical festivals organized in Muslim countries, an Israeli group was awarded a UNESCO prize.
"Lama Lo!" ("Why Not!"), an Israeli folk ensemble was awarded the UNESCO prize for interactive dialogue through music at the Sharq Taronalari ("Melodies of the Orient") International Musical Festival, held this August in the city of Samarkand in Uzbekistan. Thirty-five countries participated.
The international festival jury was comprised of representatives from Iran, Egypt, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Israel.
Ms. Bella Kresnina, director of "Lama Lo!" and the head of the Israeli delegation, emphasized that "our success was remarkable not only because we proved to be the best on the background of very strong and talented musicians from many countries of the world, but also because we promoted Israeli art at the international level."
Yuri Povolotsky, "Lama Lo!" musical director and the author of practically all compositions performed by the group, said that "the very formula of the UNESCO prize for interactive dialogue through music is most appropriate as our performance strives to strike such a dialogue between Jewish art and the souls of our audience, regardless their nationalities, confessions, and the system of cultural values."
"Lama Lo!" was founded in 1999 in Jerusalem and presents a new view of traditional Jewish folklore by blending traditional klezmer music with elements of classical, jazz and Middle Eastern ethnic music.
For additional information, contact Director: Kresin Bella -
e-mail: kresin@netvision.net.il
Israelis hug the world through humanitarian aid for 50 years
"It has been 50 years since Israel provided its first international humanitarian aid," said Shachar Zahavi founder of IsraAID: The Israel Forum for International Humanitarian Aid. "I feel very proud to be a part of a group that assists those less fortunate in developing countries and helps show others that Israelis are willing to help needy people anywhere." The new coordinating body consists of Israeli and international Jewish non-governmental organizations (NGOs) all active in development and relief work, and concerned about global issues.
IsraAID recently launched its website www.israaid.org.il as a means of providing information about its involvement in international humanitarian aid and the extensive activities of its members organizations.
"Leaders from 35 organizations sat down together at the end of 2001 and decided that it was time to come together and collaborate on issues that we all care about," said Alan Schneider, Director of B'nai B'rith World Center in Jerusalem. "We see this forum as an important coordinating mechanism between the groups, especially when we work in the field," said Schneider. These groups include such organizations as the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, Inc; JDC - Israel, 'Pirchey Refua' (Youth Medical Cadets), the Humanitarian Fund of the Kibbutz Movement, Aid Without Borders, Israeli Friends of Tibet, B'nai B'rith International, Save a Child's Heart, the American Jewish Committee (AJC), and the United Jewish Communities (UJC) Israel office.
"We, like many others in the world, believe that assistance should be given to every person who needs it regardless of religion, race, gender, nationality, age or disabilities," says Zahavi.
"Israeli and Jewish organizations - as well as the State of Israel - are at the forefront of worldwide efforts to in provide disaster assistance whenever tragedies strike, as well as in the fields of agriculture, medical training and many more. The second factor is to let the world know that Israelis are also willing to contribute to the world. Our material resources may be limited but we have a huge amount of expertise - in agriculture, rescue operations, and emergency medical assistance.
"There really is very little knowledge in the world about what we do. We also want to get our message across in the countries we help. In my experience, people have responded well to us because they view our work as people helping other people, without the political element."
We are always looking for more people who wish to take part in Israel's humanitarian aid, helping to show others that Israel cares, and actively participating in its activities. This can be done by visiting the IsraAID website and contacting one of the organizations listed.