How memories are encoded in the brain?

Rodrigo Quian Quiroga. Plugging in to Human Memory: Advantages, Challenges, and Insights from Human Single-Neuron Recordings.Cell. Volume 179, Issue 5, 14 November 2019, Pages 1015-1032.  DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2019.10.016

We describe single-neuron recordings in the human hippocampal formation, performed in epileptic patients for clinical reasons, and highlight their advantages, challenges, and limitations compared with non-invasive recordings in humans and invasive recordings in animals. We propose a unified framework to explain different findings—responses to novel stimuli, spatial locations, and specific concepts—linking the rodent and human literature regarding the function of the hippocampal formation. Moreover, we propose a model of how memories are encoded in this area, suggesting that the context-independent, invariant coding by concept cells may provide a uniquely human neural mechanism underlying memory representations.

Rodrigo Quian Quiroga. Plugging in to Human Memory: Advantages, Challenges, and Insights from Human Single-Neuron Recordings.Cell. Volume 179, Issue 5, 14 November 2019, Pages 1015-1032.  DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2019.10.016