Neurons Compete to Form Memories

The same populations of brain cells encode memories that occur close together in time, according to new research.

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Scientists have made significant progress toward understanding how individual memories are formed, but less is known about how multiple memories interact. Researchers from the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto and colleagues studied how memories are encoded in the amygdalas of mice. Memories formed within six hours of each other activate the same population of neurons, whereas distinct sets of brain cells encode memories formed farther apart, in a process whereby neurons compete with their neighbors, according to the team’s study, published today (July 21) in Science.

“Some memories naturally go together,” study coauthor Sheena Josselyn of the Hospital for Sick Children told The Scientist. For example, you may remember walking down the aisle at your wedding ceremony and, later, your friend having a bit ...

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