Some of life’s most cherished moments, like stepping onto a college campus for the first time or seeing a loved one after a long apart, can remain etched into our memories for a lifetime. But where, exactly, do memories—from defining life episodes to our impressions about people—reside in the brain? This remains one of neuroscience’s great mysteries. We are driven by such long-standing questions as:
Deciphering these mechanisms could potentially enable us to read and manipulate memories, opening up the possibility of enhancing memory and cognition in Alzheimer’s disease or erasing traumatic memories associated with PTSD.
How do neural networks encode and store episodic and semantic information?
How is stored information retrieved and utilized to support cognitive processes like thinking and planning?
What molecules underpin memory processes, specially those involved in memory storage?
