Project description
Integrative role of the hippocampus in memory systems
The two memory systems in the brain include declarative memory, which supports facts and events, and procedural memory, which supports motor skills. Recent studies suggest that these memory systems are more interconnected and that the hippocampus is involved in both. Funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the MemUnited project aims to uncover the integrative framework of shared neural processes across multiple memory systems. The project will use multivariate pattern analyses of functional magnetic resonance imaging data for the different phases of memory formation. The aim is to investigate whether the mechanisms of sequential order processing are used in declarative episodic and procedural motor memory. Moreover, the study will characterise the involvement of the hippocampus in multiple memory systems.
Objective
It is generally assumed that there are two distinct memory systems in the human brain: declarative memory supports memories for facts and events, while the procedural memory supports motor skills. However, recent evidence suggests that these multiple memory systems are less independent than originally thought and that the hippocampus, historically associated with declarative memory, is also involved in procedural motor memory. Accordingly, the project MemUnited (Hippocampus unites Memory Systems by preserving Sequential Order) proposes and tests an integrative framework that specifies the shared neural processes that support learning and memory across multiple memory systems. Specifically, given that declarative episodic and procedural motor memories consist of temporally organized sequences of events (e.g. order in which guests arrived at your dinner party) and movements (e.g. playing the piano), and the hippocampus is critical to preserve sequential order of experiences, I will investigate whether the neural mechanisms of sequential order processing supported by the hippocampus are jointly used in declarative episodic and procedural motor memory. To do so I will use state-of-the-art multivariate pattern analyses of functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging data acquired during the different phases of memory formation (i.e. encoding, consolidation and retrieval). Findings in the proposed research will fill a gap in the field by providing a detailed characterization of the role of the hippocampus in multiple memory systems. The findings will offer the opportunity to reconsider the historical models of memory classification and develop more integrative views of memory organization in general and hippocampal functioning in particular. Moreover, it will open new avenues for the development of integrative treatment of procedural and declarative memory deficits.
Fields of science
Keywords
Programme(s)
- HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Main Programme
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-GF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global FellowshipsCoordinator
9000 Gent
Belgium