Scientists in Shanghai have discovered the decoding method for brain ciphers and brain coding units.

Their research was published in the April 2005 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the United States.

Associate Professor Lin Longnian, who is affiliated with the Research Institute of Brain Function Genome at East China Normal University in Shanghai, said the human brain, composed of 14 billion nerve cells, was previously too complex to decipher. With limited technology, scientists had only been able to indirectly detect how memory was formed in the brain through behavioral tests.     

But Lin's new research has made it possible for scientists to directly test the formation of memory through deciphering brain coding units.

"This is of vital significance for people to explore the mysteries of the human brain," Lin acknowledged.

Associate Prof. Lin and his colleagues studied the "seahorse" area in rats' brains. The area transforms short-term memory into long-term memory.

Lin and his peers inserted 96 micro electrodes, which are much thinner than human hair, into the "seahorse" area of rats' brains and succeeded in recording the activity of hundreds of nerve cells. In comparison, researchers worldwide could usually only observe at most the activity of 26 nerve cells.

"If only several nerve cells could be observed, it would be impossible to analyze the coding of nerve cell groups," Lin said. The work symbolizes that brain research has entered a new phase of nerve-cell-group study.

Lin and his peers observed a set of behaviors of lab rats, including reactions against any earthquake and cold wind blowing in their backs. They used computers to analyze brain activity.

According to Lin, his research may help machines imitate human behavior to serve people better. It could also be used to detect lies.

Lin graduated from the Biology Department of the East China Normal University in 1987. In January 2004, he returned from Princeton University in the United States and established a major lab for the study of brain function and genome at his alma mater.

One of Lin's major partners in the above research was Qian Zhuo, a noted professor at Boston University in the United States. Qian is currently serving as the head of the brain function genome lab at the East China Normal University.

(Xinhua News Agency April 15, 2005)