Neuroscientists Discover Unified Neural Script for Time and Space Encoding Within the Brain’s Retrosplenial Cortex

University of Oslo researchers discover that the brain's retrosplenial cortex treats time and space as the same, explaining dual loss in Alzheimer's patients.

By: AXL Media

Published: Apr 1, 2026, 7:42 AM EDT

Source: Information for this report was sourced from University of Oslo, Faculty of Medicine

A Unified Theory of Sensory Chronology

The traditional distinction between time and space, long maintained by physicists and philosophers, appears to be a biological illusion according to new neurological research. Professor Koen Vervaeke and his team at the University of Oslo have demonstrated that brain cells do not distinguish between a physical step forward and a second of passing time. Instead, the internal network of the brain records a continuous stream of sensory data, treating "where" and "when" as two sides of the same coin. This integrated approach to information processing suggests that our perception of reality is built on a singular, fluid narrative rather than discrete categories of measurement.

The Role of the Retrosplenial Cortex in Episodic Memory

While the hippocampus has long been recognized as the primary hub for linking memories to specific times and places, this new study identifies the retrosplenial cortex as a critical secondary player. Previously thought to be exclusively involved in spatial navigation and the mapping of physical environments, this region at the back of the cerebral cortex has now been shown to track temporal intervals with equal precision. By monitoring these neural pathways, researchers observed that the retrosplenial cortex acts as an essential relay station, maintaining the integrity of episodic memories as they move through the brain’s processing centers.

Observing the Neural Relay in Working Memory

To investigate how the brain holds onto information during silence, the research team conducted a series of controlled experiments involving olfactory stimuli and timed pauses. Mice were trained to identify specific scents, such as banana and mint, and were required to hold that memory during a five-second interval to receive a reward. Using advanced microscopy, scientists observed a "relay race" of nerve cells within the retrosplenial cortex. One group of cells identified the specific odor, while a second group fired in a precise, sequential order during the silence, effectively "carrying" the memory across the gap of time until the next stimulus arrived.