The development of neural circuits for episodic and general memories

This proposal aims to understand how neural networks for memory emerge during post-natal development, both during normal development and following early-life brain damage. Episodic memories (memories of events and their spatio-temporal context), and generalised learning such as semantic memories (factual world-knowledge) are supported by different brain networks. Episodic memories are thought to be encoded initially by the hippocampus, whilst general knowledge would be extracted by integrating across experiences via hippocampus-neocortical interactions. However, the ontogenetic unfolding of memory runs counter to this framework. Early development is characterised by the rapid acquisition of general knowledge, despite amnesia for specific events. Furthermore, sustaining early-life hippocampal damage results in dense amnesia for specific episodes, but general learning is relatively preserved. We aim to resolve this apparent paradox by studying neural circuit activity in vivo, in conjunction with behaviour, in developing rodents. Our goals are to: 1) Understand the development of hippocampal mechanisms supporting the generation of memory traces of specific events; 2) Understand the neural mechanisms that enable the association of items with their spatio-temporal context (episodic memory processing); 3) Discover how neural coding for generalised knowledge emerges across cortical-hippocampal networks during normal development, and identify networks supporting preserved learning after early-life hippocampal damage.