May-Britt Moser

May-Britt Moser 2014

May-Britt Moser (born 4 January 1963) is a Norwegian psychologist, neuroscientist, and professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim, Norway. She is best known for her pioneering work on the brain's mechanism for representing space together with her then-husband, Edvard I. Moser, and their mentor, John O'Keefe. Their discoveries led to the awarding of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2014, shared with O'Keefe, for their discoveries of cells that constitute a positioning system in the brain, an "inner GPS" that enables us to orient ourselves in space.

Early Life and Education

May-Britt Moser was born in Fosnavåg, Norway. She pursued her undergraduate studies at the University of Oslo, where she studied psychology. She then went on to complete her Ph.D. in neurophysiology under the supervision of Per Andersen at the University of Oslo. It was during her postdoctoral work that she met Edvard Moser, and together they began a lifelong collaboration in research.

Career and Research

In 1996, May-Britt and Edvard Moser established the Moser research environment at NTNU, which eventually became the Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience/Centre for Neural Computation. Their research has focused on understanding how the brain computes spatial location and navigation, which has significant implications for understanding the neural basis of cognitive functions and memory.

One of their most significant discoveries was the identification of grid cells in the entorhinal cortex. These cells generate a coordinate system that allows for precise positioning and pathfinding in the surrounding environment. This discovery was crucial for the understanding of spatial memory and was a key component of their Nobel Prize-winning work.

Awards and Honours

May-Britt Moser has received numerous awards and honors for her contributions to neuroscience, including:

• The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2014
• The Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize from Columbia University
• The Kavli Prize in Neuroscience, shared with Edvard Moser and John O'Keefe

Personal Life

May-Britt Moser was married to Edvard Moser, with whom she shares two daughters. Their professional and personal partnership has been a significant aspect of their contributions to neuroscience. Despite their later separation, they have continued to collaborate professionally.

Legacy and Impact

May-Britt Moser's work has had a profound impact on the field of neuroscience, particularly in the areas of spatial memory and cognitive processes. Her research has opened new avenues for understanding how cognitive functions are processed in the brain and has implications for the study of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's.