The Multiverse of Memory
Investigate the biology of memory transformation.
In this presentation, Flavio Donato, Ph.D. (Biozentrium, University of Basel, Switzerland), discusses his team's research using Bruker's Inscopix miniscope technology to investigate how memories transform over time and how distinct hippocampal neuronal populations contribute to the persistence, flexibility, and evolution of memory.
Topics covered include:
- Memory transformation over time and how memories evolve with experience.
- Their approach to tracking memory-related neuronal activity using longitudinal miniscope imaging.
- How this approach revealed distinct neuronal populations that support parallel memory traces.
- What these findings suggest about memory persistence, plasticity, and updating.
The Multiverse of Memory
Memories are dynamic constructs whose properties change with time and experience. The biological mechanisms underpinning these dynamics remain elusive, particularly concerning how shifts in the composition of memory-encoding neuronal ensembles influence the evolution of a memory over time. By targeting developmentally distinct subpopulations of principal neurons, we discovered that memory encoding resulted in the concurrent establishment of multiple memory traces in the mouse hippocampus. Two of these traces were instantiated in subpopulations of early- and late-born neurons and followed distinct reactivation trajectories after encoding. The divergent recruitment of these subpopulations underpinned the gradual reorganization of memory ensembles and modulated memory persistence and plasticity across multiple learning episodes. Thus, our findings reveal profound and intricate relationships between ensemble dynamics and the progression of memories over time.
Presented as part of our 2025 Online Neuroscience Summit — see all event information, speakers, and abstracts, or get instant on-demand access to this presentation and all other segments from the summit using the form below.
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Speaker
Flavio Donato, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Neuroscience, Biozentrum, University of Basel
