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Zou F, Kuhl BA, DuBrow S, Hutchinson JB. Benefits of spaced learning are predicted by re-encoding of past experience in ventromedial prefrontal cortex. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.05.14.594263. [PMID: 38798652 PMCID: PMC11118271 DOI: 10.1101/2024.05.14.594263] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/29/2024]
Abstract
More than a century of research shows that spaced learning improves long-term memory. Yet, there remains debate concerning why. A major limitation to resolving theoretical debates is the lack of evidence for how neural representations change as a function of spacing. Here, leveraging a massive-scale 7T human fMRI dataset, we tracked neural representations and behavioral expressions of memory as participants viewed thousands of natural scene images that repeated at lags ranging from seconds to many months. We show that spaced learning increases the similarity of human ventromedial prefrontal cortex representations across stimulus encounters and, critically, these increases parallel and predict the behavioral benefits of spacing. Additionally, we show that these spacing benefits critically depend on remembering and, in turn, 're-encoding' past experience. Collectively, our findings provide fundamental insight into how spaced learning influences neural representations and why spacing is beneficial.
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Affiliation(s)
- Futing Zou
- Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA
| | - Brice A. Kuhl
- Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA
- Institute of Neuroscience, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA
| | - Sarah DuBrow
- Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA
- Institute of Neuroscience, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA
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2
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Auguste A, Fourcaud-Trocmé N, Meunier D, Gros A, Garcia S, Messaoudi B, Thevenet M, Ravel N, Veyrac A. Distinct brain networks for remote episodic memory depending on content and emotional experience. Prog Neurobiol 2023; 223:102422. [PMID: 36796748 DOI: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2023.102422] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2022] [Revised: 01/19/2023] [Accepted: 02/13/2023] [Indexed: 02/17/2023]
Abstract
Memories of life episodes are the heart of individual stories. However, modelling episodic memory is a major challenge in both humans and animals when considering all its characteristics. As a consequence, the mechanisms that underlie the storage of old nontraumatic episodic memories remain enigmatic. Here, using a new task in rodents that models human episodic memory including odour/place/context components and applying advances behavioural and computational analyses, we show that rats form and recollect integrated remote episodic memories of two occasionally encountered complex episodes occurring in their daily life. Similar to humans, the information content and accuracy of memories vary across individuals and depend on the emotional relationship with odours experienced during the very first episode. We used cellular brain imaging and functional connectivity analyses, to find out the engrams of remote episodic memories for the first time. Activated brain networks completely reflect the nature and content of episodic memories, with a larger cortico-hippocampal network when the recollection is complete and with an emotional brain network related to odours that is critical in maintaining accurate and vivid memories. The engrams of remote episodic memories remain highly dynamic since synaptic plasticity processes occur during recall related to memory updates and reinforcement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne Auguste
- UMR 5292 CNRS, INSERM U1028, University Lyon1, Olfaction: From coding to Memory Team, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, F-69366 Lyon, France
| | - Nicolas Fourcaud-Trocmé
- UMR 5292 CNRS, INSERM U1028, University Lyon1, Olfaction: From coding to Memory Team, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, F-69366 Lyon, France
| | - David Meunier
- University Aix Marseille, Insitut des Neurosciences de la Timone, Marseille, France
| | - Alexandra Gros
- UMR 5292 CNRS, INSERM U1028, University Lyon1, Olfaction: From coding to Memory Team, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, F-69366 Lyon, France
| | - Samuel Garcia
- UMR 5292 CNRS, INSERM U1028, University Lyon1, Olfaction: From coding to Memory Team, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, F-69366 Lyon, France
| | - Belkacem Messaoudi
- UMR 5292 CNRS, INSERM U1028, University Lyon1, Olfaction: From coding to Memory Team, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, F-69366 Lyon, France
| | - Marc Thevenet
- UMR 5292 CNRS, INSERM U1028, University Lyon1, Olfaction: From coding to Memory Team, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, F-69366 Lyon, France
| | - Nadine Ravel
- UMR 5292 CNRS, INSERM U1028, University Lyon1, Olfaction: From coding to Memory Team, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, F-69366 Lyon, France
| | - Alexandra Veyrac
- UMR 5292 CNRS, INSERM U1028, University Lyon1, Olfaction: From coding to Memory Team, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, F-69366 Lyon, France.
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3
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Simon KC, Nadel L, Payne JD. The functions of sleep: A cognitive neuroscience perspective. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2201795119. [PMID: 36279445 PMCID: PMC9636951 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2201795119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/04/2023] Open
Abstract
This Special Feature explores the various purposes served by sleep, describing current attempts to understand how the many functions of sleep are instantiated in neural circuits and cognitive structures. Our feature reflects current experts' opinions about, and insights into, the dynamic processes of sleep. In the last few decades, technological advances have supported the updated view that sleep plays an active role in both cognition and health. However, these roles are far from understood. This collection of articles evaluates the dynamic nature of sleep, how it evolves across the lifespan, becomes a competitive arena for memory systems through the influence of the autonomic system, supports the consolidation and integration of new memories, and how lucid dreams might originate. This set of papers highlights new approaches and insights that will lay the groundwork to eventually understand the full range of functions supported by sleep.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Lynn Nadel
- Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721
| | - Jessica D. Payne
- Department of Psychology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556
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4
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Holmes NM, Fam JP, Clemens KJ, Laurent V, Westbrook RF. The neural substrates of higher-order conditioning: A review. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 138:104687. [PMID: 35561894 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104687] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2021] [Revised: 04/23/2022] [Accepted: 05/04/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Sensory preconditioned and second-order conditioned responding are each well-documented. The former occurs in subjects (typically rats) exposed to pairings of two relatively neutral stimuli, S2 and S1, and then to pairings of S1 and a motivationally significant event [an unconditioned stimulus (US)]; the latter occurs when the order of these experiences is reversed with rats being exposed to S1-US pairings and then to S2-S1 pairings. In both cases, rats respond when tested with S2 in a manner appropriate to the affective nature of the US, e.g., approach when the US is appetitive and withdrawal when it is aversive. This paper reviews the neural substrates of sensory preconditioning and second-order conditioning. It identifies commonalities and differences in the substrates of these so-called higher-order conditioning protocols and discusses these commonalities/differences in relation to what is learned. In so doing, the review highlights ways in which these types of conditioning enhance our understanding of how the brain encodes and retrieves different types of information to generate appropriate behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan M Holmes
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
| | - Justine P Fam
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Kelly J Clemens
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Vincent Laurent
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - R Fred Westbrook
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
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5
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Gilboa A, Moscovitch M. No consolidation without representation: Correspondence between neural and psychological representations in recent and remote memory. Neuron 2021; 109:2239-2255. [PMID: 34015252 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2021.04.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2020] [Revised: 03/24/2021] [Accepted: 04/26/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Memory systems consolidation is often conceived as the linear, time-dependent, neurobiological shift of memory from hippocampal-cortical to cortico-cortical dependency. We argue that contrary to this unidirectional view of memory reorganization, information about events may be retained in multiple forms (e.g., event-specific sensory-near episodic memory, event-specific gist information, event-general schematic information, or abstract semantic memory). These representations can all form at the time of the event and may continue to coexist for long durations. Their relative strength, composition, and dominance of expression change with time and experience, with task demands, and through their dynamic interaction with one another. These different psychological mnemonic representations depend on distinct functional and structural neurobiological substrates such that there is a neural-psychological representation correspondence (NPRC) among them. We discuss how the dynamics of psychological memory representations are reflected in multiple levels of neurobiological markers and their interactions. By this view, there are only variations of synaptic consolidation and memory dynamics without assuming a distinct systems consolidation process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Asaf Gilboa
- Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Health Sciences, 3560 Bathurst Street, Toronto, ON M6A 2E1, Canada; Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, 100 St. George Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3G3, Canada.
| | - Morris Moscovitch
- Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Health Sciences, 3560 Bathurst Street, Toronto, ON M6A 2E1, Canada; Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, 100 St. George Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3G3, Canada.
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6
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The Continuity of Context: A Role for the Hippocampus. Trends Cogn Sci 2021; 25:187-199. [PMID: 33431287 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2020.12.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2020] [Revised: 09/10/2020] [Accepted: 12/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Tracking moment-to-moment change in input and detecting change sufficient to require altering behavior is crucial to survival. Here, we discuss how the brain evaluates change over time, focusing on the hippocampus and its role in tracking context. We leverage the anatomy and physiology of the hippocampal longitudinal axis, re-entrant loops, and amorphous networks to account for stimulus equivalence and the updating of an organism's sense of its context. Place cells have a central role in tracking contextual continuities and discontinuities across multiple scales, a capacity beyond current models of pattern separation and completion. This perspective highlights the critical role of the hippocampus in both spatial cognition and episodic memory: tracking change and detecting boundaries separating one context, or episode, from another.
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Barry DN, Clark IA, Maguire EA. The relationship between hippocampal subfield volumes and autobiographical memory persistence. Hippocampus 2020; 31:362-374. [PMID: 33320970 PMCID: PMC8048905 DOI: 10.1002/hipo.23293] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2020] [Revised: 11/30/2020] [Accepted: 12/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Structural integrity of the human hippocampus is widely acknowledged to be necessary for the successful encoding and retrieval of autobiographical memories. However, evidence for an association between hippocampal volume and the ability to recall such memories in healthy individuals is mixed. Here we examined this issue further by combining two approaches. First, we focused on the anatomically distinct subregions of the hippocampus where more nuanced associations may be expressed compared to considering the whole hippocampal volume. A manual segmentation protocol of hippocampal subregions allowed us to separately calculate the volumes of the dentate gyrus/CA4, CA3/2, CA1, subiculum, pre/parasubiculum and uncus. Second, a critical feature of autobiographical memories is that they can span long time periods, and so we sought to consider how memory details persist over time by conducting a longitudinal study whereby participants had to recall the same autobiographical memories on two visits spaced 8 months apart. Overall, we found that there was no difference in the total number of internal (episodic) details produced at Visits 1 and 2. However, further probing of detail subcategories revealed that specifically the amount of subjective thoughts and emotions included during recall had declined significantly by the second visit. We also observed a strong correlation between left pre/parasubiculum volume and the amount of autobiographical memory internal details produced over time. This positive relationship was evident for particular facets of the memories, with remembered events, perceptual observations and thoughts and emotions benefitting from greater volume of the left pre/parasubiculum. These preliminary findings expand upon existing functional neuroimaging evidence by highlighting a potential link between left pre/parasubiculum volume and autobiographical memory. A larger pre/parasubiculum appears not only to protect against memory decay, but may possibly enhance memory persistence, inviting further scrutiny of the role of this brain region in remote autobiographical memory retrieval.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel N Barry
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Ian A Clark
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Eleanor A Maguire
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
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8
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McCormick C, Barry DN, Jafarian A, Barnes GR, Maguire EA. vmPFC Drives Hippocampal Processing during Autobiographical Memory Recall Regardless of Remoteness. Cereb Cortex 2020; 30:5972-5987. [PMID: 32572443 PMCID: PMC7899055 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhaa172] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2020] [Revised: 05/29/2020] [Accepted: 05/31/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Our ability to recall past experiences, autobiographical memories (AMs), is crucial to cognition, endowing us with a sense of self and underwriting our capacity for autonomy. Traditional views assume that the hippocampus orchestrates event recall, whereas recent accounts propose that the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) instigates and coordinates hippocampal-dependent processes. Here we sought to characterize the dynamic interplay between the hippocampus and vmPFC during AM recall to adjudicate between these perspectives. Leveraging the high temporal resolution of magnetoencephalography, we found that the left hippocampus and the vmPFC showed the greatest power changes during AM retrieval. Moreover, responses in the vmPFC preceded activity in the hippocampus during initiation of AM recall, except during retrieval of the most recent AMs. The vmPFC drove hippocampal activity during recall initiation and also as AMs unfolded over subsequent seconds, and this effect was evident regardless of AM age. These results recast the positions of the hippocampus and the vmPFC in the AM retrieval hierarchy, with implications for theoretical accounts of memory processing and systems-level consolidation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cornelia McCormick
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3AR, UK
- Department of Neurodegenerative Diseases and Geriatric Psychiatry, University Hospital Bonn, 53127 Bonn, Germany
| | - Daniel N Barry
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3AR, UK
| | - Amirhossein Jafarian
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3AR, UK
| | - Gareth R Barnes
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3AR, UK
| | - Eleanor A Maguire
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3AR, UK
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Goode TD, Tanaka KZ, Sahay A, McHugh TJ. An Integrated Index: Engrams, Place Cells, and Hippocampal Memory. Neuron 2020; 107:805-820. [PMID: 32763146 PMCID: PMC7486247 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2020.07.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2020] [Revised: 06/17/2020] [Accepted: 07/13/2020] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
The hippocampus and its extended network contribute to encoding and recall of episodic experiences. Drawing from recent anatomical, physiological, and behavioral studies, we propose that hippocampal engrams function as indices to mediate memory recall. We broaden this idea to discuss potential relationships between engrams and hippocampal place cells, as well as the molecular, cellular, physiological, and circuit determinants of engrams that permit flexible routing of information to intra- and extrahippocampal circuits for reinstatement, a feature critical to memory indexing. Incorporating indexing into frameworks of memory function opens new avenues of study and even therapies for hippocampal dysfunction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Travis D Goode
- Center for Regenerative Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA; Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114 USA; Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Kazumasa Z Tanaka
- Memory Research Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Onna-son, Kunigami-gun, Okinawa, Japan
| | - Amar Sahay
- Center for Regenerative Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA; Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114 USA; Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.
| | - Thomas J McHugh
- Laboratory for Circuit and Behavioral Physiology, RIKEN Center for Brain Science, Wakoshi, Saitama, Japan.
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10
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Solomon SH, Schapiro AC. Semantic Search as Pattern Completion across a Concept. Trends Cogn Sci 2020; 24:95-98. [PMID: 31924511 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2019.12.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2019] [Accepted: 12/04/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
What role does the hippocampus play in semantic memory? In a recent paper, Cutler et al. use a vector space model of semantics to characterize semantic search deficits in hippocampal amnesia. We relate their findings to properties of the hippocampal neural code and to controversies regarding hippocampal contributions to cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah H Solomon
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
| | - Anna C Schapiro
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
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11
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Frankland PW, Josselyn SA, Köhler S. The neurobiological foundation of memory retrieval. Nat Neurosci 2019; 22:1576-1585. [PMID: 31551594 DOI: 10.1038/s41593-019-0493-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 90] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2019] [Accepted: 08/08/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Memory retrieval involves the interaction between external sensory or internally generated cues and stored memory traces (or engrams) in a process termed 'ecphory'. While ecphory has been examined in human cognitive neuroscience research, its neurobiological foundation is less understood. To the extent that ecphory involves 'reawakening' of engrams, leveraging recently developed technologies that can identify and manipulate engrams in rodents provides a fertile avenue for examining retrieval at the level of neuronal ensembles. Here we evaluate emerging neuroscientific research of this type, using cognitive theory as a guiding principle to organize and interpret initial findings. Our Review highlights the critical interaction between engrams and retrieval cues (environmental or artificial) for memory accessibility and retrieval success. These findings also highlight the intimate relationship between the mechanisms important in forming engrams and those important in their recovery, as captured in the cognitive notion of 'encoding specificity'. Finally, we identify several questions that currently remain unanswered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul W Frankland
- Program in Neurosciences & Mental Health, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. .,Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. .,Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. .,Department of Physiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. .,Child & Brain Development Program, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
| | - Sheena A Josselyn
- Program in Neurosciences & Mental Health, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Physiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Brain, Mind & Consciousness Program, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Stefan Köhler
- Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. .,The Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada.
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Barry DN, Maguire EA. Consolidating the Case for Transient Hippocampal Memory Traces. Trends Cogn Sci 2019; 23:635-636. [PMID: 31270021 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2019.05.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2019] [Accepted: 05/22/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel N Barry
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, 12 Queen Square, London, WC1N 3AR, UK
| | - Eleanor A Maguire
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, 12 Queen Square, London, WC1N 3AR, UK.
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