Encoding of long-term associations through neural unitization in the human medial temporal lobe

Hernan G. Rey, Emanuela De Falco, Matias J. Ison, Antonio Valentin, Gonzalo Alarcon, Richard Selway, Mark P. Richardson and Rodrigo Quian Quiroga ()
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Hernan G. Rey: University of Leicester
Emanuela De Falco: University of Leicester
Matias J. Ison: University of Leicester
Antonio Valentin: Institute of Psychiatry Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London
Gonzalo Alarcon: Institute of Psychiatry Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London
Richard Selway: King’s College Hospital NHS Trust
Mark P. Richardson: Institute of Psychiatry Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London
Rodrigo Quian Quiroga: University of Leicester

Nature Communications, 2018, vol. 9, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: Abstract Besides decades of research showing the role of the medial temporal lobe (MTL) in memory and the encoding of associations, the neural substrates underlying these functions remain unknown. We identified single neurons in the human MTL that responded to multiple and, in most cases, associated stimuli. We observed that most of these neurons exhibit no differences in their spike and local field potential (LFP) activity associated with the individual response-eliciting stimuli. In addition, LFP responses in the theta band preceded single neuron responses by ~70 ms, with the single trial phase providing fine tuning of the spike response onset. We postulate that the finding of similar neuronal responses to associated items provides a simple and flexible way of encoding memories in the human MTL, increasing the effective capacity for memory storage and successful retrieval.

Date: 2018
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-06870-2

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