The Matrix in Your Head Extensive research has shown the important role of the hippocampus in our ability to store memories in a spatial context. This spatial sense is not only related to time, but also to the correspondent physical place where memories were created. The results of the study performed by John O'Keefe and Jonathan Dostrovski in 1971 have further proved this concept of a “cognitive map.” One of the first evidences of the role the hippocampus plays in storing our memories was established in the 1950s, when surgeon William Scoville removed most of the hippocampus of one of his patients in an effort to save the patient's life. After surgery, Scoville realized that the patient was not able to form new memories. O'Keefe continued the research by working with rats. He discovered that the brain has a built in map, the rat's brain would fire up a certain activity in the brain every time the animal was at a certain place. Almost as if the brain had a built in burglar alarm which was triggered at certain places, but not others. …show more content…
At night, when the rat went to asleep, the experiences of the day would play out in the rat's mind and concluded the process of placing the memories in long term storage. The mental playback in the rat's mind included the different locations where the rat had been by utilizing this cognitive map in its mind. This map is formed by a grid of triangles, each triangle triggers a specific signal when the rat is in that area. The triangles on the grid overlap forming an hexagonal pattern which extends throughout the landscaping, enabling the tracking of the rat. This same tracking system facilitates the recollection of not only the details of the event, but also the space and time in which the event