Researchers develop a computational model of grid cell-mediated episodic encoding

Researchers develop a computational model of grid cell-mediated episodic encoding

Nearly 50 years ago, neuroscientists discovered cells within the brain's hippocampus that store memories of specific locations. These cells also play an important role in storing memories of events, known as episodic memories. While the mechanism of how place cells encode spatial memory has been well-characterized, it has remained a puzzle how they encode episodic memories.

How one brain circuit encodes memories of both places and events

Nearly 50 years ago, neuroscientists discovered cells within the brain's hippocampus that store memories of specific locations. These cells also play an important role in storing memories of events, known as episodic memories. While the mechanism of how place cells encode spatial memory has been well-characterized, it has remained a puzzle how they encode episodic memories.

Episodic and associative memory from spatial scaffolds in the hippocampus

Hippocampal circuits in the brain enable two distinct cognitive functions: the construction of spatial maps for navigation, and the storage of sequential episodic memories1–5. Although there have been advances in modelling spatial representations in the hippocampus6–10, we lack good models of its role in episodic memory. Here we present a neocortical–entorhinal–hippocampal network model that implements a high-capacity general associative memory,…

How the Brain Uses Place Cells to Anchor Episodic Memories

Researchers have developed a model explaining how place cells in the hippocampus anchor both spatial and episodic memories. Grid cells in the entorhinal cortex interact with hippocampal cells to create a scaffold, linking memories to specific neural patterns.