Research
Adaptive memory consolidation
New memories are fragile and must be stabilized through a process of memory consolidation. Our research examines which memories are selectively remembered and how the brain stores these memories for the long-term. We use behavior and fMRI to investigate how consolidation affects the way memories are represented in the brain, including the prioritization and transformation of memories. We use behavior, fMRI, and measures of sleep to investigate how consolidation supports changes in neural memory representations over time.
Related publications
Cowan ET, Schapiro AC, Dunsmoor JE, Murty VP (2021). Memory consolidation as an adaptive process. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review. 28:1796–1810. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-021-01978-x
Cowan E, Liu A, Henin S, Kothare S, Devinsky O, Davachi L (2020). Sleep spindles promote the restructuring of memory representations in ventromedial prefrontal cortex through enhanced hippocampal–cortical functional connectivity. The Journal of Neuroscience. 40(9):1909–191. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1946-19.2020
Cowan ET, Chanales AC, Davachi L, Clewett D (In press). Goal shifts structure memories and prioritize event-defining information in long- term memory. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience
Learning conditions & long-term memory
The way in which information is initially learned can influence what we remember. Using behavior, fMRI, and computational modeling, we study how aspects of encoding contributes to long-term memory. For example, repeated study is well known to increase how much we can remember, particularly when spaced out over time (known as the Spacing Effect) - yet, we still don’t understand exactly how. How does the hippocampus process repeated encounters to the same information? How do we remember partially repeating episodes, where some features stay the same while others vary? We also investigate how motivational states during learning adaptively signal the relative importance of experiences, modulating what we hold onto in memory.
Related publications
Cowan ET, Zhang Y, Rottman BM, & Murty VP (2024). The effects of mnemonic variability and spacing on memory over multiple timescales. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2311077121
"The Best Strategy for Learning May Depend on What You're Trying to Remember", Scientific American column on Cowan et al., PNAS 2024