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How do scientists study place-responsive cells in people with epilepsy?

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Patient H.M. and short-term memory loss explained — hippocampus Learn about Henry Molaison (better known as “patient H.M.”), whose short-term memory loss following a lobotomy helped researchers to understand how brain structures are related to brain function.

Scientists study place-responsive cells in patients with epilepsy by leveraging clinical procedures already required for their medical care. Because these patients often have seizures localized to the hippocampus, they may undergo procedures involving the implantation of intracranial electrodes to identify the specific origin of their seizures.1

While these electrodes are in place for diagnostic purposes, researchers are able to record the activity of single neurons while the patients perform various spatial-memory tasks. This method allows scientists to observe firing properties in the human hippocampal formation that are similar to the place cells and grid cells previously identified in rodents, providing direct evidence of how the human brain represents environmental locations.1