Memory hierarchies map onto the hippocampal long axis in humans

Nat Neurosci. 2015 Nov;18(11):1562-4. doi: 10.1038/nn.4138. Epub 2015 Oct 19.

Abstract

Memories, similar to the internal representation of space, can be recalled at different resolutions ranging from detailed events to more comprehensive, multi-event narratives. Single-cell recordings in rodents have suggested that different spatial scales are represented as a gradient along the hippocampal axis. We found that a similar organization holds for human episodic memory: memory representations systematically vary in scale along the hippocampal long axis, which may enable the formation of mnemonic hierarchies.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Female
  • Hippocampus / physiology*
  • Humans
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging / methods
  • Male
  • Memory, Episodic
  • Mental Recall / physiology*
  • Neurons / physiology*
  • Space Perception / physiology*
  • Young Adult