BruceBlaus

Our Brain's Filing System For Storing Experiences Uncovered

ArticlePress release
Brain & Nerve
Current Medical News
Contributed byKrish Tangella MD, MBAOct 02, 2017

A team of neuroscientists has uncovered how our brains organize, over time, our experiences: that is, according to their similarities.

"It is as if in order to make sense of the world, the brain re-organizes individual distinct experiences into information clusters -- perhaps signaling the emergence of conceptual knowledge," observes Lila Davachi, an associate professor in NYU's Department of Psychology and the senior author of the paper, which appears in the journal Neuron.

The work, co-authored with Alexa Tompary, a recent NYU doctoral recipient, explored how memories become transformed over time -- a core question in memory research.

In their study, the researchers examined a specific dynamic: whether and how the brain would represent the similarities or shared features across individual experiences.

To do so, they conducted an experiment in which subjects learned a series of object-scene associations. Over the course of the experiment, they viewed several individual objects (e.g., a tennis racquet) on a computer screen, with each object paired with pictures of four repeating scenes (a beach scene, for example) The researchers then tested subjects' ability to match the objects with the scenes they viewed at two time periods: immediately after the experiment and one week later.

During these recall periods, the researchers studied the subjects' neural patterns of activation associated with individual memories.

The results showed that, immediately after learning, there was no discernible overlap in the pattern of activation associated with the memories for the objects paired with the same scene picture. However, after one week, the activation patterns were more overlapping in the brain's hippocampus and its medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) -- in other words, over time, the brain had organized the information according to their overlap.

In addition, that scientists found that this structuring of experience with time was inversely related to the fidelity of individual memory reinstatement -- in organizing related memories, patterns of activation that corresponded to details of a specific memory were diminished.

"This aspect of the research points to the tension between 'good memory' and learning -- if we remember each individual experience as it was encountered, are we able to effectively learn about the underlying regularities across experiences?" asks Tompary. "We see evidence for this competition in our neural analysis of memory structures in the brain."


Materials provided by New York UniversityNote: Content may be edited for style and length.

Disclaimer: DoveMed is not responsible for the accuracy of the adapted version of news releases posted to DoveMed by contributing universities and institutions.

References:

Alexa Tompary, Lila Davachi. (2017). Consolidation Promotes the Emergence of Representational Overlap in the Hippocampus and Medial Prefrontal CortexNeuron. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2017.09.005

Was this article helpful

On the Article

Krish Tangella MD, MBA picture
Approved by

Krish Tangella MD, MBA

Pathology, Medical Editorial Board, DoveMed Team

0 Comments

Please log in to post a comment.

Related Articles

Test Your Knowledge

Asked by users

Related Centers

Loading

Related Specialties

Loading card

Related Physicians

Related Procedures

Related Resources

Join DoveHubs

and connect with fellow professionals

Related Directories

Who we are

At DoveMed, our utmost priority is your well-being. We are an online medical resource dedicated to providing you with accurate and up-to-date information on a wide range of medical topics. But we're more than just an information hub - we genuinely care about your health journey. That's why we offer a variety of products tailored for both healthcare consumers and professionals, because we believe in empowering everyone involved in the care process.
Our mission is to create a user-friendly healthcare technology portal that helps you make better decisions about your overall health and well-being. We understand that navigating the complexities of healthcare can be overwhelming, so we strive to be a reliable and compassionate companion on your path to wellness.
As an impartial and trusted online resource, we connect healthcare seekers, physicians, and hospitals in a marketplace that promotes a higher quality, easy-to-use healthcare experience. You can trust that our content is unbiased and impartial, as it is trusted by physicians, researchers, and university professors around the globe. Importantly, we are not influenced or owned by any pharmaceutical, medical, or media companies. At DoveMed, we are a group of passionate individuals who deeply care about improving health and wellness for people everywhere. Your well-being is at the heart of everything we do.

© 2023 DoveMed. All rights reserved. It is not the intention of DoveMed to provide specific medical advice. DoveMed urges its users to consult a qualified healthcare professional for diagnosis and answers to their personal medical questions. Always call 911 (or your local emergency number) if you have a medical emergency!