Psychology Colloquium: Professor Howard Eichenbaum, Boston University

 Our ability to recollect past events is a central to human conscious
life.  An initial understanding of the neurobiology of recollection came
from observations on amnesia and anatomical studies have identified
pathways of the cerebral cortex interacting with the hippocampus that
compose a recollection system.  Taking advantage of the finding that
this system is conserved in mammalian evolution, we have been pursuing
how recollection emerges within this system.  These studies have shown
that animals have a capacity for recollection, similar to that in
humans, and that the hippocampus plays a special role that is
fundamental to recollection.  In addition, converging evidence from many
studies on humans and animals suggest a functional organization of the
cortical-hippocampal system that explains how recollection works.  These
findings support an emerging view that the hippocampus receives separate
streams of information about events and the context in which they occur,
and combines these streams to create a “scaffolding” for memories,
representing events in their spatial and temporal context.

Hosted by Professor Muzzio

Refreshments will be served at 3:00PM in Stiteler Hall's Silverstein Forum.