What is memory? The present state of the engram

Poo, Mu Ming; Pignatelli, Michele; Ryan, Tomás J.; Tonegawa, Susumu; Bonhoeffer, Tobias; Martin, Kelsey C.; Rudenko, Andrii; Tsai, Li Huei; Tsien, Richard W.; Fishell, Gord; Mullins, Caitlin; Gonçalves, J. Tiago; Shtrahman, Matthew; Johnston, Stephen T.; Gage, Fred H.; Dan, Yang; Long, John D.; Buzsáki, György; Stevens, Charles F.

doi:10.1186/s12915-016-0261-6

Cited by 311 publications

(255 citation statements)

References 141 publications

(167 reference statements)

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“…Interestingly, in discussing recent work on memory, Poo et al reach a similar conclusion when they remark that “[…] some other mechanisms, potentially involving epigenomic modifications in engram neurons, appear to be necessary for memory trace storage” (Poo et al, 2016, p. 8).…”

Section: Why Not (Only) the Synapse?mentioning

confidence: 90%

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The Demise of the Synapse As the Locus of Memory: A Looming Paradigm Shift?

Trettenbrein

2016

Front. Syst. Neurosci.

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Synaptic plasticity is widely considered to be the neurobiological basis of learning and memory by neuroscientists and researchers in adjacent fields, though diverging opinions are increasingly being recognized. From the perspective of what we might call “classical cognitive science” it has always been understood that the mind/brain is to be considered a computational-representational system. Proponents of the information-processing approach to cognitive science have long been critical of connectionist or network approaches to (neuro-)cognitive architecture, pointing to the shortcomings of the associative psychology that underlies Hebbian learning as well as to the fact that synapses are practically unfit to implement symbols. Recent work on memory has been adding fuel to the fire and current findings in neuroscience now provide first tentative neurobiological evidence for the cognitive scientists' doubts about the synapse as the (sole) locus of memory in the brain. This paper briefly considers the history and appeal of synaptic plasticity as a memory mechanism, followed by a summary of the cognitive scientists' objections regarding these assertions. Next, a variety of tentative neuroscientific evidence that appears to substantiate questioning the idea of the synapse as the locus of memory is presented. On this basis, a novel way of thinking about the role of synaptic plasticity in learning and memory is proposed.

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Section: Why Not (Only) the Synapse?mentioning

confidence: 90%

“…However, diverging opinions are increasingly being recognized (e.g., Dudai et al, 2015; Poo et al, 2016). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Demise of the Synapse As the Locus of Memory: A Looming Paradigm Shift?

Trettenbrein

2016

Front. Syst. Neurosci.

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“…Plasticity has been documented in different brain regions including hippocampus, cerebellum, prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex [40][41][42]. Interestingly, several studies have reported the induction of both LTP and LTD in the prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex [42][43][44], which constitute the main brain regions that play a critical role in outcome monitoring, decision making, conflict monitoring, error commission, error detection, error correction, reward, memory, learning, and cognition [45].…”

Section: Figure 2 Series Of Events Occurring In the Synapse And Braimentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Interestingly, several studies have reported the induction of both LTP and LTD in the prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex [42][43][44], which constitute the main brain regions that play a critical role in outcome monitoring, decision making, conflict monitoring, error commission, error detection, error correction, reward, memory, learning, and cognition [45]. Importantly, emerging evidences indicate that outcome feedback is a critical process that drives plasticity in prefrontal cortex [45].…”

Section: Figure 2 Series Of Events Occurring In the Synapse And Braimentioning

confidence: 99%

Neurometaplasticity: Glucoallostasis control of plasticity of the neural networks of error commission, detection, and correction modulates neuroplasticity to influence task precision

Welcome

Dane

Mastorakis

et al. 2017

AIP Conference Proceedings

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Abstract. The term "metaplasticity" is a recent one, which means plasticity of synaptic plasticity. Correspondingly, neurometaplasticity simply means plasticity of neuroplasticity, indicating that a previous plastic event determines the current plasticity of neurons. Emerging studies suggest that neurometaplasticity underlie many neural activities and neurobehavioral disorders. In our previous work, we indicated that glucoallostasis is essential for the control of plasticity of the neural network that control error commission, detection and correction. Here we review recent works, which suggest that task precision depends on the modulatory effects of neuroplasticity on the neural networks of error commission, detection, and correction. Furthermore, we discuss neurometaplasticity and its role in error commission, detection, and correction.

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“…Morphological changes have also been observed at the level of the synapse: long-term potentiation results in the formation of new dendritic spines. In addition to spines being formed and receding, their shape is also modified during learning events [46] - a theoretical concept credited to Francis H.C. Crick (1916-2004) by Poo et al [47]. …”

Section: Figmentioning

confidence: 99%

Garth J. Thomas, Physiological Psychologist: An Appraisal of His Contributions to Memory Research

Tzouma

Triarhou²

2017

Ann Neurosci

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This note is a tribute to Garth J. Thomas (1916-2008), late Professor of Brain Research at the University of Rochester, New York. Thomas was an influential psychologist, albeit for his research in learning and memory, as much as for his work as editor of the Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology. In his studies, he combined experimental lesions with behavioral analyses. He introduced the terms “dispositional” and “representational” to describe the 2 different types of memory function, and emphasized that memory must be studied not only through behavioristic psychology, but also in a molecular and physiological context. Through his experimentation in rodents, Thomas concluded that distinct neural mechanisms underpin dispositional and representational memory. Prompted by Thomas' remarks on the future evolution of research techniques, we touch upon some ideas on the engram and the glial theory in a modern perspective.

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What is memory? The present state of the engram

Cited by 311 publications

References 141 publications

The Demise of the Synapse As the Locus of Memory: A Looming Paradigm Shift?

The Demise of the Synapse As the Locus of Memory: A Looming Paradigm Shift?

Neurometaplasticity: Glucoallostasis control of plasticity of the neural networks of error commission, detection, and correction modulates neuroplasticity to influence task precision

Garth J. Thomas, Physiological Psychologist: An Appraisal of His Contributions to Memory Research

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