Matthew Wilson
Using techniques that make it possible to measure the responses and interactions of large groups of neurons, Professor Matt Wilson's lab is studying how memories of personal experience are formed and used. This effort has led to the study of sleep and the dreaming life of rats, yielding surprising insights into the relationship between dreams and memory.
Research in our laboratory focuses on the study of the formation and maintenance of memories within the hippocampus and neocortex. To study the basis of these processes, we employ a combination of molecular genetic, electrophysiological, pharmacological, behavioral and computational approaches. In particular, we use a technique that allows us to record simultaneously the activity of ensembles of hundreds of single neurons in freely behaving animals.
These studies have led to the exploration of the nature of sleep and its role in memory. Previous theories have suggested that sleep states may be involved in a process in which memories are transferred from short-term to longer-term storage and possibly reorganized into more efficient forms. Recent findings have identified explicit correlates of dreaming during periods of rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep. By reconstructing the content of these states, specific memories can be tracked during the course of this process of long-term memory formation.
Simultaneous monitoring of memory patterns in the hippocampus and neocortex has allowed us to study the differences between these structures in how memories are formed. We have found evidence that the neocortex may be creating memories that attempt to generalize across experience, while the hippocampus stores the experiences themselves.
|
