Tomás Ryan: Competition Between Memory Engrams and The Importance of Forgetting

During the past decade several new technological advances have enabled the identification of ensembles of neurons that encode a specific memory trace (engram cells) and for controlling the activity of engram cells so that recall or inhibition of a memory is controlled by the experimenter. The technologies include fluorescence 'tagging' of engram cells and optogenetic activation or inhibition of the engram cells. In this episode professor Tomás Ryan talks about these developments and his own research which provides evidence that memory recall involves competition between different engrams, that forgetting a memory is an active process in which recall of the memory is suppressed. Studies of amnesia have shown that memory engrams can still exist and can be recalled by electrical stimulation. LINKS Review and Perspective articles https://www.cell.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0166-2236%2825%2900153-5 file:///Users/markmattson/Downloads/s41583-021-00548-3%20(1).pdf Engram cell connectivity and memory https://www.cell.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0960-9822%2823%2901512-9 Forgetting and engram expression https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11537488/pdf/elife-92860.pdf