The conversations neurons have as they form and recall memories in real time have been decoded by Medical College of Georgia scientists. The finding could help pinpoint at what stage memory formation is flawed and whether drugs are improving it.

They inserted 128 electrodes in the hippocampus of mice to record the conversations of 200 to 300 neurons as mice learned to associate a certain tone with a mild foot shock 20 seconds later.

A computational algorithm translated the neuronal chatter into a discernable and dynamic activity pattern that provided scientists a trace or picture of what the memory looked like as it was formed and recalled.

The scientists later correlated retrieval of the memory with the mice’s actions, such as freezing upon hearing the tone or returning to the chamber where the foot shock occurred.

One of the most surprising findings was that the memory trace of the foot shock was the sole memory that emerged in their brains 20 seconds after hearing the tone: just when the mild shock would have followed.