Concept cells: the building blocks of declarative memory functions

• Published in: Nature reviews. Neuroscience Vol. 13; no. 8; pp. 587 - 597
• Main Author: Quiroga, Rodrigo Quian
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01.08.2012; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 631/378/1595; 631/378/2649/1723; 631/378/87; 692/699/375/178; Animal Genetics and Genomics; Animals; Behavioral Sciences; Biological and medical sciences; Biological Techniques; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Concept Formation - physiology; Epilepsy; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General aspects. Models. Methods; Headache. Facial pains. Syncopes. Epilepsia. Intracranial hypertension. Brain oedema. Cerebral palsy; Human subjects; Humans; Medical sciences; Memory; Memory - physiology; Nerve Net - cytology; Nerve Net - physiology; Nervous system (semeiology, syndromes); Neural Pathways - cytology; Neural Pathways - physiology; Neurobiology; Neurology; Neurons; Neurosciences; Opera houses; opinion-2; Physiological aspects; Synaptic Potentials - physiology; Temporal Lobe - cytology; Temporal Lobe - physiology; Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs; United Kingdom; Human; Evaluation; Temporal lobe; Nervous system diseases; Neuron; Epilepsy; Memory; Central nervous system disease; Epileptic focus; Representation; Review; Cerebral disorder
• ISSN: 1471-003X; 1471-0048; 1471-0048; 1469-3178
• DOI: 10.1038/nrn3251

Neurons in the human medial temporal lobe respond in a selective and abstract manner to particular persons or objects. Rodrigo Quian Quiroga argues that these 'concept cells' are crucial for memory functions and the transition between related concepts that leads to the flow of consciousness. Intracranial recordings in subjects suffering from intractable epilepsy — made during their evaluation for an eventual surgical removal of the epileptic focus — have allowed the extraordinary opportunity to study the firing of multiple single neurons in awake and behaving human subjects. These studies have shown that neurons in the human medial temporal lobe respond in a remarkably selective and abstract manner to particular persons or objects, such as Jennifer Aniston, Luke Skywalker or the Tower of Pisa. These neurons have been named 'Jennifer Aniston neurons' or, more recently, 'concept cells'. I argue that the sparse, explicit and abstract representation of these neurons is crucial for memory functions, such as the creation of associations and the transition between related concepts that leads to episodic memories and the flow of consciousness.