Maguire, EA; (2014) Joan Mott Prize Lecture 2013 - Memory consolidation in humans: New evidence and opportunities. Exp Physiol , 99 (3) pp. 471-486. 10.1113/expphysiol.2013.072157.

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Abstract

We are endlessly fascinated by memory; we desire to improve it and fear its loss. While it has long been recognised that brain regions such as the hippocampus are vital for supporting memories of our past experiences - autobiographical memories - we still lack fundamental knowledge about the mechanisms involved. This is because the study of specific neural signatures of autobiographical memories in vivo in humans presents a significant challenge. However, recent developments in high-resolution structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) coupled with advanced analysis methods now permit access to the neural substrates of memory representations that has hitherto been precluded in humans. Here I describe how the application of 'decoding' techniques to brain imaging data is beginning to disclose how individual autobiographical memory representations evolve over time, deepening our understanding of systems-level consolidation, prompting in particular new questions about the roles of the hippocampus and ventromedial prefrontal cortex, and offering new opportunities to interrogate the elusive memory trace that has for so long confounded neuroscientists.

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