Time cells in the human hippocampus and entorhinal cortex support episodic memory.
Publication/Presentation Date
11-10-2020
Abstract
The organization of temporal information is critical for the encoding and retrieval of episodic memories. In the rodent hippocampus and entorhinal cortex, evidence accumulated over the last decade suggests that populations of "time cells" in the hippocampus encode temporal information. We identify time cells in humans using intracranial microelectrode recordings obtained from 27 human epilepsy patients who performed an episodic memory task. We show that time cell activity predicts the temporal organization of retrieved memory items. We also uncover evidence of ramping cell activity in humans, which represents a complementary type of temporal information. These findings establish a cellular mechanism for the representation of temporal information in the human brain needed to form episodic memories.
Volume
117
Issue
45
First Page
28463
Last Page
28474
ISSN
1091-6490
Published In/Presented At
Umbach, G., Kantak, P., Jacobs, J., Kahana, M., Pfeiffer, B. E., Sperling, M., & Lega, B. (2020). Time cells in the human hippocampus and entorhinal cortex support episodic memory. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 117(45), 28463–28474. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2013250117
Disciplines
Medicine and Health Sciences
PubMedID
33109718
Department(s)
Department of Medicine
Document Type
Article