The Engram of Odor Learning in the Piriform Cortex of the Rat

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How do we form memory and how is memory represented in the brain? Recent advances in neuroscience suggest that external events are represented in the brain as patterns of neuronal activity. Input to the brain arrives from our senses, which activate populations of neurons in particular brain regions. The population of neurons activated by a given input forms a neuronal ensemble, a read out which is the representation of the sensory input in the brain. Our research suggests that memory is formed by a reorganization of unique neuronal ensembles based on previous experience. In order to study learning and memory, we are using a simple model that involves how animals learn to associate odors. Our work uses specialized techniques to visualize ensembles of neurons and we have been studying how the activity of populations of neurons is shaped by experience during learning and memory of odors. We can detect and construct where and how the memory is formed. Our proposed research will open new avenues for understanding mechanisms that modify cognitive representations underlying memory.