SC Talk: Paul Frankland, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, “The Persistence and Transience of Memory”

Host:  Jim Gurd

Introducer:  Joanne Rovet

Speaker: Paul Frankland, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto

Title: “The Persistence and Transience of Memory”

Abstract: The predominant focus in the neurobiological study of memory has been on remembering (persistence). However, recent studies have considered the neurobiology of forgetting (transience). In my talk I will draw parallels between neurobiological and computational mechanisms underlying transience. I will propose that it is the interaction between persistence and transience that allows for intelligent decision-making in dynamic, noisy environments. Specifically, I will argue that transience (1) enhances flexibility, by reducing the influence of outdated information on memory-guided decision making, and (2) prevents overfitting to specific past events, thereby promoting generalization. According to this view, the goal of memory is not the transmission of information through time, per se. Rather, the goal of memory is to optimize decision-making. As such, transience is as important as persistence in mnemonic systems.

Bio: Paul Frankland is a Senior Scientist in the program in Neurosciences & Mental Health at the Hospital for Sick Children, and a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (Life Sciences division). He holds a Canada Research Chair in Cognitive Neurobiology, and is appointed as a Full Professor in the Department of Psychology, Department of Physiology and Institute of Medical Science at the University of Toronto. He is also a fellow of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) in the program for Child and Brain Development. His research program combines behavior, imaging and molecular approaches to study cognitive function and dysfunction. In particular, he has focused on two questions. First, while memories for events initially depend on the hippocampus, over time they are thought to be reorganized in the cortex for long-term storage. His group has identified mechanisms involved in cortical memory consolidation and how changes in organization affect memory quality. Second, new neurons are generated in the hippocampus throughout life. His group showed that these neurons integrate into hippocampal memory traces where they promote the encoding of new memories. However, they also recently found that increasing neurogenesis induces forgetting of memories already stored in the hippocampus. This finding has transformed how we about the function of hippocampal neurogenesis, suggesting that it regulates a balance between encoding new, and clearing out old, memories.

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