Memory processing in health and disease: linking behavioral, circuits, and molecular scales.

Memory entails the dynamic reorganization and strengthening of transient internal representations into enduring memory traces over time. This intricate process involves multiple stages, during which information is encoded and stored within neural circuits, enabling subsequent recall and guiding behavioral responses. While neuroscientists have made significant advances in elucidating the roles of various brain regions, neural circuits, cell types, and molecular pathways on memory processing, a comprehensive understanding of the underlying mechanisms remains elusive.

In the last decades, new technologies have allowed us to manipulate and track specific cell types during learning, increasing the knowledge of neuronal function during this process and driving attention to key components of neural circuits that critically influence their output. In parallel, state-of-the-art approaches have enabled the tracking of neuronal population activity at a large scale in vivo, alongside behavior. These new methodologies have enriched our understanding of memory processing and opened new perspectives and questions on how neuronal ensemble activity regulates complex behavior.


Advancing this area of study is crucial for translational applications aimed at addressing memory deficits observed in numerous neuropathological conditions. Multi-scale studies are necessary to gain a clear comprehension of what renders neural circuits susceptible to dysregulation and how disrupted neural circuits drive dysfunctional memory processing in many neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases.


This Research Topic aims to explore recent advances in memory processing in health and disease, spanning multiple scales from the molecular and synaptic to the circuit and behavioral level. We particularly welcome submission of Original Research, Review, Methods, and Perspective articles including, but not limited to, the following sub-topics:


Role and interaction of different brain regions and cell types on learning and memory

Cellular and molecular mechanisms of memory processing

State-dependent regulation of memory processing

Pathomechanisms of dysfunctional memory processing in neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases

Potential therapeutic interventions for enhancing memory function or treating memory-related symptoms of neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases.