Hippocampal neurons code individual episodic memories in humans
Kolibius, Luca D Roux, Frederic Parish, George Ter Wal, Marije Van Der Plas, Mircea Chelvarajah, Ramesh Sawlani, Vijay Rollings, David T Lang, Johannes D Gollwitzer, Stephanie
Kolibius, Luca D
Roux, Frederic
Parish, George
Ter Wal, Marije
Van Der Plas, Mircea
Chelvarajah, Ramesh
Sawlani, Vijay
Rollings, David T
Lang, Johannes D
Gollwitzer, Stephanie
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2023-10-05
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Abstract
The hippocampus is an essential hub for episodic memory processing. However, how human hippocampal single neurons code multi-element associations remains unknown. In particular, it is debated whether each hippocampal neuron represents an invariant element within an episode or whether single neurons bind together all the elements of a discrete episodic memory. Here we provide evidence for the latter hypothesis. Using single-neuron recordings from a total of 30 participants, we show that individual neurons, which we term episode-specific neurons, code discrete episodic memories using either a rate code or a temporal firing code. These neurons were observed exclusively in the hippocampus. Importantly, these episode-specific neurons do not reflect the coding of a particular element in the episode (that is, concept or time). Instead, they code for the conjunction of the different elements that make up the episode.
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Kolibius LD, Roux F, Parish G, Ter Wal M, Van Der Plas M, Chelvarajah R, Sawlani V, Rollings DT, Lang JD, Gollwitzer S, Walther K, Hopfengärtner R, Kreiselmeyer G, Hamer H, Staresina BP, Wimber M, Bowman H, Hanslmayr S. Hippocampal neurons code individual episodic memories in humans. Nat Hum Behav. 2023 Nov;7(11):1968-1979. doi: 10.1038/s41562-023-01706-6. Epub 2023 Oct 5. PMID: 37798368; PMCID: PMC10663153.
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