Memory replay not as simple as thought

March, 2010
  • Several reports have come out in recent years on how recent events replay in the hippocampus, a process thought to be crucial for creating long-term memories. Now a rat study suggests that these replays are not merely echoes of past events, but may include possible events that never happened.

Several reports have come out in recent years on how recent events replay in the hippocampus, a process thought to be crucial for creating long-term memories. Now a rat study suggests that these replays are not merely echoes of past events, but a dynamic process aimed at improving decision-making. Rather than being solely replays of recent or frequent paths through the maze, the replays were often paths that the rats had rarely taken or, in some cases, had never taken, as if the rats were trying to build maps to help them make better navigation decisions.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-03/cmu-cmr031110.php http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-03/uom-udg031110.php

Reference: 

[318] Gupta, A. S., van der Meer M. A. A., Touretzky D. S., & Redish D. A.
(2010).  Hippocampal Replay Is Not a Simple Function of Experience.
Neuron. 65(5), 695 - 705.

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