Entwined engrams

Entwined engrams

The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans displays a surprisingly sophisticated behavioral repertoire that includes the utilization of both associative and non-associative forms of learning. Elucidating the molecular basis of learning remains a fundamental, yet daunting, challenge of modern neuroscience. In Pereira and van der Kooy (ref. 2), we described the use of a two input-two output stimuli syst...

Searching for Engrams

Recent advances in cellular imaging technologies together with novel genetic tools have enabled the observation of minute anatomical changes in the intact brain. This has elevated the search for physical correlates of memory, one of the longstanding questions in modern neurobiology, to a new level. Utilizing these new tools, several studies have recently been published pointing to subcellular s...

From Kant to entwined Naturalism

Pattern Completion in Multielement Event Engrams

Personally experienced events include multiple elements, such as locations, people, and objects. These events are thought to be stored in episodic memory as coherent representations [1] that allow the retrieval of all elements from a partial cue ("pattern completion" [2-6]). However, direct evidence for coherent multielement representations is lacking. Their presence would predict that retrieva...

From Engrams to Pathologies of the Brain

Memories are the experiential threads that tie our past to the present. The biological realization of a memory is termed an engram-the enduring biochemical and physiological processes that enable learning and retrieval. The past decade has witnessed an explosion of engram research that suggests we are closing in on boundary conditions for what qualifies as the physical manifestation of memory. ...