Memory-related patterns of neural activity
The field of learning and memory has grown tremendously over the last 50 years. While we now recognize the identity of the key regions of the brain which are responsible for rapidly storing experience to enable memories to be initially laid down and triggering their recall subsequently, how neurons in these regions coordinate these processes both online, and critically, offline during sleep is not yet understood.
Our research has focused on burst of activity known as sharp wave ripples which are found during periods of quiescence during learning and novel experience and are highly prevelant during slow wave sleep. We believe that these momentary periods hold the key to unlocking our understanding of memory.
Closed-loop signal processing and neuroscience
While numerous studies have correlated ripples and memory, the key to demonstrating the fundamental importance of momentary bursts of activity is to manipulate them online. We are developing approaches for interacting with ripples by detecting and manipulating them in closed loop. We were among the first to carry out these types of causal experiments [1], and we continue to work in this area [2].
We have collected publications that are related to closed-loop interaction with the hippocampus / learning-and-memory system in a Zotero library. Please reach out if you have suggestions of work we’ve missed or would like to join!
[1] Jadhav, S. P., Kemere, C., German, P. W. & Frank, L. M. “Awake hippocampal sharp-wave ripples support spatial memory.” Science(2012).
[2] Dutta S., Ackermann, E., Kemere C. “Analysis of an open source, closed-loop, realtime system for hippocampal sharp-wave ripple disruption.” J. Neural Engineering (2019).