Spontaneous activity accounts for most of what the brain does and is likely to be key for information processing in the brain, but its function is still quite mysterious. Two key spontaneous activity processes are the Default Mode Network (DMN), a set of areas that are most markedly connected and active during behavioural idleness, and memory replay, the spontaneous reactivation of neural patterns occurring during experience. In the Mohajerani lab, we test the hypothesis that the DMN plays a key role in memory replay processes. This theory, if confirmed, would bring important conceptual advances: to memory studies, as it would provide a mechanism supporting the formation and consolidation of complex memory representations. I will explore this theory by our ongoing studies of neural activity over the whole mouse cortex in animals running memory tasks.
Zoom option if unable to attend in person: