Innovative methods and theoretical frameworks in memory encoding, consolidation, and retrieval

Memory research in neuroscience and cognitive science is a rapidly advancing field dedicated to unraveling how memories are encoded, consolidated, and retrieved within the nervous system. Despite notable advances made possible by new imaging, recording, and computational technologies, many questions about the precise synaptic, cellular, and circuit mechanisms underlying memory remain unresolved. Recent studies demonstrate an unprecedented ability to probe memory at multiple organizational levels, from molecular changes to network-wide activity patterns, yet we still lack a cohesive understanding of how memory is spatially and temporally localized, how it is dynamically updated, and how memories are reorganized across the brain’s complex architecture. While intriguing parallels can be drawn between brain memory and computer storage, such as shared functional processes of writing, maintaining, and retrieving information, the physical implementation in biological systems is vastly different. Computer storage is built upon a structured, hierarchical system with clear address mapping and physical substrates, whereas in the brain, the distribution, updating, and maintenance of memory traces remain incompletely understood. This ongoing gap points toward the need for uncovering general organizing principles that may govern memory across scales, and for developing tools capable of addressing these critical questions.This Research Topic aims to spotlight cutting-edge methodological and theoretical advances that push the boundaries of memory research. The main objective is to bring together contributions unveiling, validating, or applying innovative experimental, analytical, and computational strategies to investigate memory traces, explore plasticity, and model the diverse aspects of memory processing. We encourage submissions that bridge biological experimentation and theoretical approaches, particularly those integrating data across different scales or exploring potential general principles bridging biological and artificial memory systems.The boundaries of this Research Topic are methods-driven and interdisciplinary, spanning from synaptic and molecular levels to large-scale network dynamics, with a preference for research combining empirical work and advanced analysis or modeling. Purely theoretical or conceptual papers without a novel methodological component fall outside the scope. To gather further insights in this area, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:- Novel techniques for identifying and validating memory engrams- Experimental tools for studying synaptic and circuit plasticity- High-resolution imaging and neural recording methods- Computational and AI-based analysis of memory processes- Multiscale models linking neural substrates and behavior- Methods for localization and updating of distributed memory traces- Connectomic and network-science approaches Topic editors: Hui Wei, Hu Lu, Xue-song Tang, Magdalena Fafrowicz Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/80524/innovative-methods-and-theoretical-frameworks-in-memory-encoding-consolidation-and-retrieval