Yesterday, John O’Keefe, May-Britt Moser and Edvard Moser, were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2014 for “their discoveries of cells that constitute a positioning system in the brain”.
This year´s Nobel Laureates have found a positioning system, an “inner GPS” in the brain that makes it possible to orient ourselves in space. Their discoveries 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. Their research has opened new avenues for understanding other cognitive processes, such as memory, thinking and planning.
Professor Jonathan Ashmore, Neuroscientist and Bernard Katz Professor of Biophysics at University College London and immediate past President of The Society, said: “The Society congratulates Professor John O’Keefe, Professor May-Britt Moser and Professor Edvard Moser on the award of this year’s Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. Professor John O’Keefe’s work has been a cornerstone of the neurosciences at University College London and has led on to a deeper understanding of complex brain functions. His pioneering research on place cells and cognitive maps in the hippocampus has been of critical importance for the study of how brain circuitry guides behaviour and has depended on his development and application of physiological techniques to record from neurons in freely moving animals.”