In vivo ephaptic coupling allows memory network formation

Dimitris A Pinotsis; Earl K Miller

doi:10.1093/cercor/bhad251

In vivo ephaptic coupling allows memory network formation

Cereb Cortex. 2023 Aug 23;33(17):9877-9895. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhad251.

Authors

Dimitris A Pinotsis^{1

2}, Earl K Miller²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, Centre for Mathematical Neuroscience and Psychology, University of London, London EC1V 0HB, United Kingdom.
² The Picower Institute for Learning & Memory, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States.

Abstract

It is increasingly clear that memories are distributed across multiple brain areas. Such "engram complexes" are important features of memory formation and consolidation. Here, we test the hypothesis that engram complexes are formed in part by bioelectric fields that sculpt and guide the neural activity and tie together the areas that participate in engram complexes. Like the conductor of an orchestra, the fields influence each musician or neuron and orchestrate the output, the symphony. Our results use the theory of synergetics, machine learning, and data from a spatial delayed saccade task and provide evidence for in vivo ephaptic coupling in memory representations.

Keywords: auto-encoders; effective connectivity; memory engrams; neural ensembles; predictive coding; synergetics; working memory.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Brain / physiology
Memory Consolidation*
Neurons* / physiology