Seminar

The brain has a remarkable capacity to store memories safely in a stable manner, while also allowing flexible updating of this information. In this talk, I will show how the balance between excitatory and inhibitory (E/I) neural activity supports stable yet flexible memory function in humans. I will present evidence that cortical E/I balance, together with hippocampus, ensure stored memories remain dormant and prevent the co-activation of similar, overlapping memories.

I will then present evidence for a mechanism where cortical E/I balance supports recall of stored information, namely through a transient decrease of theconcentration of the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA, which results in a disruption of E/I balance and a release of information stored in neocortical circuits. Throughout my talk, I will highlight how we can leverage Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS) as a non-invasive technique to quantify neurotransmitters in-vivo. Overall, I hope to illustrate how studying E/I balance can provide mechanistic insight into the neural processes underlying cognition.