Hippocampal-cortical interactions in the consolidation of social memory

Gaeun Park, Min Seok Kim, Young-Beom Lee, Soonho Shin, Taewoo Kim, Sang Jeong Kim, Doyun Lee () and Yong-Seok Lee ()
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Gaeun Park: Seoul National University College of Medicine
Min Seok Kim: Seoul National University College of Medicine
Young-Beom Lee: Center for Cognition and Sociality, Institute for Basic Science
Soonho Shin: Seoul National University College of Medicine
Taewoo Kim: Seoul National University College of Medicine
Sang Jeong Kim: Seoul National University College of Medicine
Doyun Lee: Center for Cognition and Sociality, Institute for Basic Science
Yong-Seok Lee: Seoul National University College of Medicine

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-19

Abstract: Abstract Episodic memories are initially encoded in the hippocampus and subsequently undergo systems consolidation into the neocortex. The nature of memories stored in the hippocampus and neocortex differs, with the cortex encoding memories in more generalized forms. Although several brain regions encode social information, the specific cortical regions and circuits involved in the consolidation of social memories and the nature of the information encoded in the cortex remain unclear. Using in vivo Ca2+ imaging and optogenetic manipulations, we found that infralimbic (IL) neurons projecting to the nucleus accumbens shell (IL→NAcSh) store consolidated social memories in male mice. Inactivating IL→NAcSh neurons that responded to a familiar conspecific impaired the recognition of other familiar mice including littermates, demonstrating that these neuronal activities support social familiarity. Furthermore, inactivating hippocampal ventral CA1 neurons projecting to the IL region disrupted the consolidation of memory for newly familiarized mice while sparing the recognition of littermates. These findings demonstrate the critical role of hippocampal-cortical interactions in the consolidation of social memory.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-64264-7

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