Cited by 135Memory and Neural MechanismsMemory Processes and InfluencesCognitive Functions and Memory

Accessing Real-Life Episodic Information from Minutes versus Hours Earlier Modulates Hippocampal and High-Order Cortical Dynamics

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Chen, J., Honey, C. J., Simony, E., Arcaro, M. J., Norman, K. A., Hasson, U.·2016·Cerebral Cortex

Abstract

It is well known that formation of new episodic memories depends on hippocampus, but in real-life settings (e.g., conversation), hippocampal amnesics can utilize information from several minutes earlier. What neural systems outside hippocampus might support this minutes-long retention? In this study, subjects viewed an audiovisual movie continuously for 25 min; another group viewed the movie in 2 parts separated by a 1-day delay. Understanding Part 2 depended on retrieving information from Part 1, and thus hippocampus was required in the day-delay condition. But is hippocampus equally recruited to access the same information from minutes earlier? We show that accessing memories from a few minutes prior elicited less interaction between hippocampus and default mode network (DMN) cortical regions than accessing day-old memories of identical events, suggesting that recent information was available with less reliance on hippocampal retrieval. Moreover, the 2 groups evinced reliable but distinct DMN activity timecourses, reflecting differences in information carried in these regions when Part 1 was recent versus distant. The timecourses converged after 4 min, suggesting a time frame over which the continuous-viewing group may have relied less on hippocampal retrieval. We propose that cortical default mode regions can intrinsically retain real-life episodic information for several minutes.

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  • Cortical processing timescales increase along a hierarchy from early sensory regions (tens of milliseconds) to high-order regions (hundreds of seconds).

    “Processing timescales increase from tens of milliseconds in early sensory regions (e.g. for detecting phonemes in early auditory areas), to a few seconds in mid-level sensory areas (e.g. for integrating words into sentences), up to hundreds of seconds in regions including the temporoparietal junction, angular gyrus, and posterior and frontal medial cortex”

    From Discovering Event Structure in Continuous Narrative Perception and Memory (2017) · cites this paper as J. Chen et al., 2016

    The Introduction (page unavailable) describes a hierarchy from sensory regions with processing timescales shorter than a second to higher-order regions influenced by information from minutes earlier. The Discussion specifies hundreds of milliseconds for low-level sensory areas, not the claimed tens of milliseconds. Thus the hierarchy and long-timescale end are supported, but the precise short-timescale value is not. (LLM, conf=0.85)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • In a study where participants watched an episode with long-term context, short-term context, or no context, inter-subject correlation in the default mode network was greater among participants with background knowledge than among those without, and responses were similar across short-term and long-term context groups.

    “Inter-subject correlation in the DMN was greater among participants who had the background knowledge to interpret the clip than among participants who did not. Crucially, responses in the DMN were similar across the short-term context and the long-term context groups”
  • Default mode network responses can be shaped by information accumulated across many minutes during uninterrupted viewing and by information gathered over days, and conceivably years.

    “This result suggests that the responses in the DMN can be shaped by information accumulated across many minutes during uninterrupted viewing (short-term context) as well as by information gathered over days (as in the long-term context group) — and, conceivably, even years.”
  • Higher-level DMN regions may accumulate activated elements and hold the emerging simulation online, while iterative interactions with schemas refine the simulation.

    “it may be that higher-level DMN regions (e.g., angular gyrus, posterior cingulate) accumulate activated elements and hold the emerging simulation online, while iterative interactions with schemas serve to refine the simulation.”

    From Mental Time Travel? A Neurocognitive Model of Event Simulation. (2020) · cites this paper as Chen et al., 2016

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Authors
Chen, J., Honey, C. J., Simony, E., Arcaro, M. J., Norman, K. A., & Hasson, U.
Affiliations
  • Princeton University (US)
  • University of Toronto (CA)
Corresponding author
Chen, J.
Venue
Cerebral Cortex
Published
2015-08-03
Volume
26
Issue
8
Pages
3428-3441
ISSN
  • 1047-3211 (ISSN-L)
  • 1460-2199
OpenAlex
W2164495629
Cited by
135
References
65
Citations by year
2026: 9 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 16 · 2020: 20 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 15 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 5 · 2014: 1
FWCI
5.62
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Cerebral Cortex (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • HighWire Press Open Archive (submittedVersion)
Funders
National Institutes of Health (R01-MH094480, 2T32MH065214-11)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory Processes and Influences
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Functions and Memory
Keywords
episodic memory, hippocampus, default mode network, memory retrieval, hippocampal amnesia, hippocampal-cortical interaction
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Auditory Perception, Brain Mapping, Cerebral Cortex, Female, Hippocampus, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Memory, Short-Term, Neural Pathways, Neuropsychological Tests, Time Factors, Video Recording, Visual Perception, Young Adult, Memory, Long-Term, Memory, Episodic

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