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Memory consolidation or transformation: context manipulation and hippocampal representations of memory

Nature Neuroscience volume 10, pages 555–557 (2007)Cite this article

Abstract

The traditional view is that the hippocampus is necessary for retaining memories until they are consolidated in their original form in the neocortex. An alternative view is that the original memory, which is hippocampus- and context-dependent, becomes transformed with time to one that is more schematic and independent of the hippocampus. By manipulating context in two protocols that are widely used to investigate hippocampal-neocortical interactions in memory, we find evidence for the transformation view.

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Acknowledgements

We thank L. Nadel, P. Frankland, M. Fanselow and P. Gisquet-Verrier for having commented on earlier versions of this paper. We thank M. Binns for statistical advice, and M.-È. Couture and N. Chen for providing technical support. This work was supported by Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) grants to G.W. and M.M.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Centre, 3560 Bathurst Street, Toronto, M6A 2E1, Ontario, Canada

    Gordon Winocur & Morris Moscovitch

  2. Department of Psychology, Trent University, 1600 West Bank Drive, Peterborough, K9J 7B8, Ontario, Canada

    Gordon Winocur

  3. Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, 100 St. George Street, Toronto, M5S 3G3, Ontario, Canada

    Gordon Winocur & Morris Moscovitch

  4. Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, 250 College Street, Toronto, M5T 1R8, Ontario, Canada

    Gordon Winocur

  5. Department of Psychology, Baycrest Centre, 3560 Bathurst Street, Toronto, M6A 2E1, Ontario, Canada

    Morris Moscovitch

  6. Department of Physiology, University of Toronto, 1 King's College Circle, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 1A8, Canada

    Melanie Sekeres

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  1. Gordon Winocur
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  2. Morris Moscovitch
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  3. Melanie Sekeres
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Correspondence to Gordon Winocur.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Winocur, G., Moscovitch, M. & Sekeres, M. Memory consolidation or transformation: context manipulation and hippocampal representations of memory. Nat Neurosci 10, 555–557 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn1880

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