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CogniGron Seminar: Stefano Fusi (Columbia University, NY, USA) - "Memory compression leads to spatial tuning in the hippocampus"

When:Tu 23-03-2021 16:00 - 17:00
Where:Online

Abstract

Numerous studies on humans revealed the importance of the hippocampus in memory formation. The rodent literature instead focused on the spatial representations that are observed in navigation experiments. Here we propose a simple model of the hippocampus that reconciles the main findings of the human and rodent studies. The model assumes that the hippocampus is a memory system that generates compressed representations of sensory experiences using previously acquired knowledge about the statistics of the world. These experiences can then be memorized more efficiently. The sensory experiences during the exploration of an environment, when compressed by the hippocampus, lead naturally to spatial representations similar to those observed in rodent studies and to the emergence of place cells.