AI's Role in Understanding Human Memory

A recent UCL study sheds light on memory processes using AI models, elucidating how our brains reconstruct past events and conjure novel scenarios. Published in Nature Human Behaviour and backed by Wellcome, the research employs a generative neural network, mimicking brain functions related to memory, imagination, and planning. The model, incorporating hippocampal and neocortical networks, reveals how they collaborate during these cognitive functions. Lead author Eleanor Spens notes the AI model’s ability to extract information from experiences, facilitating both recollection and imaginative projection. The study explores the interplay between memory replay and prediction, offering insights into how the brain forms conceptual representations and generates new events during imagination and planning.

Credits: SciTechDaily