Researchers at the University of Chicago have discovered that neuronal activity in the hippocampus is far more dynamic than previously understood, which challenges traditional views of how memories are formed and stored. By studying place cells in mice, the researchers found that neuronal representations of environments continue to change even after initial learning, with subtle and sometimes dramatic shifts in how neurons fire. The study introduced a new synaptic plasticity rule called Behavioral Timescale Synaptic Plasticity (BTSP), which better explains these shifting neuronal patterns compared to the traditional Hebbian “neurons that fire together wire together” model.
These continually evolving neuronal representations may serve a crucial function in helping the brain distinguish between similar memories that occur in the same place but at different times, potentially preventing memory confusion. The researchers suggest that these dynamic changes might be the brain’s way of encoding not just the environment itself but the entire nuanced experience, including subtle variations in context like time, odors, and accompanying activities.
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