Fast track to the neocortex: A memory engram in the posterior parietal cortex

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 362; no. 6418; pp. 1045 - 1048
• Main Authors: Brodt, S., Gais, S., Beck, J., Erb, M., Scheffler, K., Schönauer, M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States The American Association for the Advancement of Science 30.11.2018
• Subjects: Activation; Adult; Animal memory; Brain; Brain mapping; Coding; Computer memory; Consolidation; Cortex (parietal); Female; Functional magnetic resonance imaging; Functional Neuroimaging; Functional plasticity; Hippocampus; Hippocampus - physiology; Humans; Learning; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Medical imaging; Memory; Memory Consolidation; Mental Recall; Neocortex - physiology; Neuroimaging; Neuronal Plasticity; NMR; Nuclear magnetic resonance; Parietal Lobe - physiology; Plastic properties; Plasticity; Reinstatement; Temporal lobe; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.aau2528

How fast do learning-induced anatomical changes occur in the brain? The traditional view postulates that neocortical memory representations reflect reinstatement processes initiated by the hippocampus and that a genuine physical trace develops only through reactivation over extended periods. Brodt et al. combined functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with diffusion-weighted MRI during an associative declarative learning task to examine experience-dependent structural brain plasticity in human subjects (see the Perspective by Assaf). This plasticity was rapidly induced after learning, persisted for more than 12 hours, drove behavior, and was localized in areas displaying memory-related functional brain activity. These plastic changes in the posterior parietal cortex, and their fast temporal dynamics, challenge traditional views of systems memory consolidation. Science , this issue p. 1045 ; see also p. 994 Microstructural plasticity in human brains shows the rapid emergence and long-term persistence of neocortical memory storage. Models of systems memory consolidation postulate a fast-learning hippocampal store and a slowly developing, stable neocortical store. Accordingly, early neocortical contributions to memory are deemed to reflect a hippocampus-driven online reinstatement of encoding activity. In contrast, we found that learning rapidly engenders an enduring memory engram in the human posterior parietal cortex. We assessed microstructural plasticity via diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging as well as functional brain activity in an object–location learning task. We detected neocortical plasticity as early as 1 hour after learning and found that it was learning specific, enabled correct recall, and overlapped with memory-related functional activity. These microstructural changes persisted over 12 hours. Our results suggest that new traces can be rapidly encoded into the parietal cortex, challenging views of a slow-learning neocortex.