Interpreting memory
Memory forms the foundation of our identity, learning, and decision-making. It allows us to retain experiences, knowledge, and skills. It underpins creativity and problem-solving. Without memory, we would lose the continuity of self, making it impossible to grow, connect with others, or make sense of the world around us.
So, as part of UQ’s Research and Innovation Week, the Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) invited the community to QBI for an interactive presentation and panel discussion exploring memory.
What is memory?
Dr Matt Kenna, a researcher in the Sah lab at QBI, started by explaining the fundamentals of memory, including how scientists have attempted to define memory and what we understand about how it works.
Dr Kenna introduced the concept of the engram, a construct in neuroscience that refers to the physical and biochemical changes in the brain that represent a memory. Often described as the "memory trace," an engram is thought to be the network of neurons and their synaptic connections that are activated and modified during the encoding, storage, and retrieval of a specific memory.
How do we test memory?
From exploring what happens in the brain when we form a memory, we journeyed into virtual reality (VR) for a live demonstration of the immersive programs that researchers from the Mattingley lab have designed to test memory.
VR technology uses computer-generated environments to create immersive experiences that feel like real life. While VR is often used for entertainment, it has increasingly found applications in health care and research. Here, the team uses VR to immerse patients in a world they can explore to test their navigation and spatial memory.
How can memory go wrong?
Forming and recalling memories can go awry. Professor Gail Robinson leads the Robinson lab and studies patients living with conditions including dementia and stroke, and the ways in which these diseases impact different types of memory. She shared her insights from the clinic.
Some neurological conditions can affect episodic memory, which is learning and retaining new information, such as day-to-day activities or remembering a shopping list or current events. A common feature of Alzheimer's disease is impaired semantic memory, which can manifest as difficulty naming, recognising, or describing objects.
Can we improve memory?
Once we had explored the ways in which different types of memory are affected when the brain is diseased, we delved into the science of how we can improve our memories.
Dr Tara Walker, who leads the Walker lab, talked us through her extensive research on neurogenesis—the generation of new neurons in the brain. She presented evidence of exercise-induced neurogenesis and neurogenesis in adult mouse brains after selenium supplementation. The latter has been shown to reverse the cognitive deficits experienced after stroke, which can affect memory and the ability to learn.
It is hard to overstate the importance of memory, which is likely why so many people turned out to the event to learn more about it and hear about QBI’s latest research into how it works.
If you enjoyed this topic, you might want to join QBI’s public lecture, Living well with dementia, on 13 March 2025, during Brain Awareness Week 2025.
More information:
Podcast: How memories shape us
Living well with dementia
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Living well with dementia
13 Mar 2025
