Virtual fMRI brown bag: March 12, 2021

Please join us for a talk given by Melissa Hebscher, a postdoctoral fellow working with Dr. Joel Voss at Northwestern University.

Measuring and manipulating real-world expressions of memory

Our memory allows us to mentally travel back in time to recall rich, multifaceted past events, often re-experiencing them in great detail. My research aims to understand how such a complex process is supported by dynamic interactions between brain regions and large-scale brain networks. In this talk, I will present findings from neuroimaging, behavioral, and neurostimulation experiments that shed light on the neural mechanisms supporting real-world expressions of memory that differ from memory typically measured in the laboratory. First, I will present evidence that the hippocampus and precuneus, two regions associated with subjective aspects of autobiographical memory, communicate with one another via neural oscillatory coupling. Using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), I show that this coupling is critical for subjective memory. Next, I will describe an experiment investigating the role of the hippocampal memory network in the reinstatement of naturalistic event memories using TMS and fMRI. I will present findings showing that stimulation targeted at the hippocampal network improves memory accuracy, enhances reinstatement of individual memories in the cortex, and alters hippocampal coordination of cortical reinstatement. The findings from these experiments contribute to our understanding of real-world memory and how it may be manipulated non-invasively.