Cognitive and neurobiological mechanisms underlying memory control.

A person haunted by a traumatic memory, a crushing worry, or an obsessive thought often cannot simply choose to stop thinking about it. This research programme investigates the cognitive and neurobiological mechanisms that allow the brain to actively suppress unwanted memories and thoughts, aiming to understand why this inhibitory control fails in conditions like depression, anxiety, PTSD, and OCD. Current mental health treatments are largely organised around diagnostic categories, but many of the most distressing symptoms—such as intrusive memories, rumination, and pathological worry—cut across these diagnoses. This project targets that trans-diagnostic symptom directly, seeking the fundamental cognitive and neural circuitry that governs the ability to halt memory retrieval. By understanding how the brain normally exerts this control, and where it breaks down, the researchers aim to identify validated treatment targets. If successful, this work could lead to practical interventions—including cognitive training, pharmacology, or brain stimulation—that directly strengthen a person’s capacity to control intrusive thoughts. The research is primarily fundamental science, driven by high-level cognitive theory and innovative neuroscience. However, similar mechanistic work on memory reconsolidation and fear extinction has already informed treatments for PTSD, suggesting that a deep understanding of these circuits can eventually translate into real-world clinical tools.