Xie Weizhen, Wardle Susan G, Langbein Jenna, Fruchet Oceane, Baumhauer Molly, Phan Audrey, Tong Ai Phuong, Japee Shruti, Inati Sara K, Baker Chris I, Zaghloul Kareem A
Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA
Surgical Neurology Branch, NINDS, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA.
Learn Mem. 2025 May 2;32(4). doi: 10.1101/lm.054053.124. Print 2025 Apr.
Classic models propose that forming lasting visual memories involves coordinated interactions between visually selective neocortical structures and the hippocampus during memory consolidation. However, the precise role of visually selective neocortical structures in memory consolidation remains elusive, given their potential contributions spanning from initial perceptual encoding to subsequent memory reactivation. We capitalized on a unique opportunity, involving direct recording from the posterior parahippocampus and its subsequent resection in a neurological patient, to investigate the impact of scene-selective neocortical lesions on visual memory consolidation. First, with intracranial EEG, we confirmed the functional relevance of the patient's resected tissues in representing a specific visual category, in this case, scene images. Subsequently, we identified disruption of memory for scenes relative to faces and objects during the participant's postoperative visit. This finding prompted a comprehensive analysis of visual memory across different visual categories in this participant, as well as an examination of similar functions in other neurological patients with intact parahippocampi and a cohort of online participants. Through these within- and between-participant comparisons, we identified greater time-dependent reduction in visual memory for scene images following the resection of the posterior parahippocampus. Importantly, these changes in memory retention could not be attributed to a general reduction in initial memory encoding following neocortical lesions. Our findings, therefore, suggest that reactivating scene-selective neocortical areas is essential for converting transient visual perceptual experiences into lasting long-term scene memories.
经典模型提出,形成持久的视觉记忆涉及在记忆巩固过程中视觉选择性新皮层结构与海马体之间的协调相互作用。然而,鉴于视觉选择性新皮层结构的潜在作用涵盖从初始感知编码到后续记忆重新激活,其在记忆巩固中的精确作用仍不清楚。我们利用了一个独特的机会,即对一名神经疾病患者的后海马旁回进行直接记录并随后切除该区域,以研究场景选择性新皮层损伤对视觉记忆巩固的影响。首先,通过颅内脑电图,我们证实了患者切除组织在表征特定视觉类别(在本案例中为场景图像)方面的功能相关性。随后,我们在参与者术后访视期间发现,相对于面部和物体,其对场景的记忆受到了干扰。这一发现促使我们对该参与者不同视觉类别中的视觉记忆进行全面分析,并对其他海马旁回完整的神经疾病患者以及一组在线参与者的类似功能进行检查。通过这些参与者内部和参与者之间的比较,我们发现后海马旁回切除后,场景图像的视觉记忆随时间的减少更为明显。重要的是,这些记忆保持的变化不能归因于新皮层损伤后初始记忆编码的普遍减少。因此,我们的研究结果表明,重新激活场景选择性新皮层区域对于将短暂的视觉感知体验转化为持久的长期场景记忆至关重要。