2014 Nobel prize in medicine goes to John O’Keefe, May‐Britt Moser, Edvard I Moser
The big announcement was made by the Academy along with the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet, Swedish Academy and the Norwegian Nobel Committee
The winners of the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine are John O'Keefe, May‐Britt Moser, Edvard I Moser, who have been credited with the discovery of cells that constitute a positioning system in the brain.
Norweigian couple, Mosers have become the fifth married couple to be jointly awarded with the prestigious Noble Prize.
John O'Keefe, who will be sharing one half of the Cobel Prize holds US and UK citizenship.
This year´s Nobel Laureates have discovered a positioning system, an "inner GPS" in the brain that makes it possible to orient ourselves in space, demonstrating a cellular basis for higher cognitive function.
In 1971, John O´Keefe discovered the first component of this positioning system. He found that a type of nerve cell in an area of the brain called the hippocampus that was always activated when a rat was at a certain place in a room. Other nerve cells were activated when the rat was at other places. O´Keefe concluded that these "place cells" formed a map of the room.
More than three decades later, in 2005, May-Britt and Edvard Moser discovered another key component of the brain's positioning system. They identified another type of nerve cell, which they called "grid cells", that generate a coordinate system and allow for precise positioning and pathfinding. Their subsequent research showed how place and grid cells make it possible to determine position and to navigate.
The discoveries of John O´Keefe, May-Britt Moser and Edvard Moser have solved a problem that has occupied philosophers and scientists for centuries - how does the brain create a map of the space surrounding us and how can we navigate our way through a complex environment?
On being awarded the Nobel Prize, May‐Britt said, "I'm still in shock. This is so great."
BREAKING
NEWS:
John
O’Keefe
@uclnews
and
@MayBrittMoser
@NTNU
and
Edvard
Moser
awarded
the
#nobelprize2014
#medicine
pic.twitter.com/7uykwwpM1P
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The
Nobel
Prize
(@NobelPrize)
October
6,
2014
John
O’Keefe,
@uclnews
is
the
70th
Medicine
Laureate
born
in
USA
#nobelprize2014
#Medicine
pic.twitter.com/n7f7ckpBkD
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The
Nobel
Prize
(@NobelPrize)
October
6,
2014
#nobelprize2014
Medicine:
1/4
to
Norwegian
Edvard
Moser
pic.twitter.com/UPGv5z0rLI
—
The
Nobel
Prize
(@NobelPrize)
October
6,
2014
#nobelprize2014
Medicine:
¼
to
Norwegian
@MayBrittMoser
@NTNU
pic.twitter.com/FNKBJloiW4
—
The
Nobel
Prize
(@NobelPrize)
October
6,
2014
Announcement
of
the
2014
Nobel
Prize
in
Physiology
or
Medicine
-
http://t.co/p2XruD6W6e
—
The
Nobel
Prize
(@NobelPrize)
October
6,
2014
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