The brain scans its surroundings in a steady rhythm and only turns off during deep sleep

The brain is not only concerned with where we are right now.

It also explores places we haven’t been yet.

This is the conclusion of a new study from [Edvard Moser, May-Britt Moser] and their colleagues at the Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience at [Norwegian University of Science and Technology].

“Within just a few milliseconds, [rat] brain cells sweep out into the surroundings and map them,” Edvard Moser tells sciencenorway.no.

“This reveals a completely new property of the brain,” says [Tor Stensola].

…

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During the lightest sleep phase, REM sleep, the same right-to-left movements appear in the rat’s brain.

This means the phenomenon occurs even when the rats are completely still and not receiving any sensory input.

Only in deep sleep does the sweeping motion stop.

…

“We suspect, though we haven’t tested it here, that this mechanism helps the brain construct an internal map of the environment. If something interesting happens, we believe the signals are modified,” says Edvard Moser.

This is an excerpt. Read the original post here