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Rapid encoding of new memories by individual neurons in the human brain

Ison, Matias; Rodrigo Quian, Quiroga; Fried, Itzhak

Authors

Quiroga Rodrigo Quian

Itzhak Fried



Abstract

The creation of memories about real-life episodes requires rapid neuronal changes that may appear after a single occurrence of an event. How is such demand met by neurons in the medial temporal lobe (MTL), which plays a fundamental role in episodic memory formation? We recorded the activity of MTL neurons in neurosurgical patients while they learned new associations. Pairs of unrelated pictures, one of a person and another of a place, were used to construct a meaningful association modeling the episodic memory of meeting a person in a particular place. We found that a large proportion of responsive MTL neurons expanded their selectivity to encode these specific associations within a few trials: cells initially responsive to one picture started firing to the associated one but not to others. Our results provide a plausible neural substrate for the inception of associations, which are crucial for the formation of episodic memories.

Citation

Ison, M., Rodrigo Quian, Q., & Fried, I. (2015). Rapid encoding of new memories by individual neurons in the human brain. Neuron, 87(1), 220-230. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2015.06.016

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jun 4, 2015
Online Publication Date Jul 1, 2015
Publication Date Jul 1, 2015
Deposit Date Sep 13, 2017
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Print ISSN 0896-6273
Publisher Elsevier
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 87
Issue 1
Pages 220-230
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2015.06.016
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1116782
Publisher URL https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0896627315005590

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