Research summary
Memories are formed and temporarily stored in a region of the brain called the hippocampus. This process allows us to remember an event that occurred two decades ago and use the information to plan for the future. Dr. Sylvain Williams, Canada Research Chair in Neural Circuits of Learning and Memory, aims to understand how this is possible.
Williams and his research team are determining how a large population of neurons in the hippocampus can store information and make it available for retrieval. They are also determining how memories are crystallized for later use during sleep. Their findings will help reveal the basic principles of memory formation and provide new insights into how memory can be rescued in neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease.