Cited by 377Memory and Neural MechanismsMemory Processes and InfluencesSpatial Cognition and Navigation

Memory for events and their spatial context: models and experiments

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Burgess, Neil, Becker, Suzanna, King, John A., O'Keefe, John·2001·Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences

Abstract

The computational role of the hippocampus in memory has been characterized as: (i) an index to disparate neocortical storage sites; (ii) a time-limited store supporting neocortical long-term memory; and (iii) a content-addressable associative memory. These ideas are reviewed and related to several general aspects of episodic memory, including the differences between episodic, recognition and semantic memory, and whether hippocampal lesions differentially affect recent or remote memories. Some outstanding questions remain, such as: what characterizes episodic retrieval as opposed to other forms of read-out from memory; what triggers the storage of an event memory; and what are the neural mechanisms involved? To address these questions a neural-level model of the medial temporal and parietal roles in retrieval of the spatial context of an event is presented. This model combines the idea that retrieval of the rich context of real-life events is a central characteristic of episodic memory, and the idea that medial temporal allocentric representations are used in long-term storage while parietal egocentric representations are used to imagine, manipulate and re-experience the products of retrieval. The model is consistent with the known neural representation of spatial information in the brain, and provides an explanation for the involvement of Papez's circuit in both the representation of heading direction and in the recollection of episodic information. Two experiments relating to the model are briefly described. A functional neuroimaging study of memory for the spatial context of life-like events in virtual reality provides support for the model's functional localization. A neuropsychological experiment suggests that the hippocampus does store an allocentric representation of spatial locations.

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Registry

Crossref · 10.1098/rstb.2001.0948

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69 of 69 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • Hippocampal-damaged patients' descriptions were fragmented, lacked a coherent spatial context, and were significantly less rich, suggesting the hippocampus plays a critical role in integrating disparate elements of a scene into a coherent whole.

    “Their descriptions were fragmented, lacked a coherent spatial context, and were significantly less rich suggesting that the hippocampus plays a critical role in integrating the disparate elements of a scene into a coherent whole (O'Keefe and Nadel, 1978; Burgess et al., 2001; Eichenbaum, 2004; Moscovitch et al., 2005; Hassabis et al., 2007; Hassabis and Maguire, 2007).”

    From Using Imagination to Understand the Neural Basis of Episodic Memory (2007) · cites this paper as Burgess et al., 2001

  • The virtual 3D scenes with congruent multisensory bodily information approach real-life experience more than classical virtual computer game tasks used for EM investigations.

    “Using the present naturalistic and controlled VR setup, we ensured that our participants experienced virtual 3D scenes with congruent multisensory bodily information (visual, motor, vestibular); these approach real-life experience as compared to classical virtual computer game tasks that have been used for EM investigations in the past [106,107].”

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Authors
Burgess, N., Becker, S., King, J. A., & O'Keefe, J.
Affiliations
University College London (GB)
Corresponding author
Burgess, Neil
Venue
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences
Published
2001-09-29
Volume
356
Issue
1413
Pages
1493-1503
ISSN
  • 0962-8436 (ISSN-L)
  • 1471-2970
OpenAlex
W1971765679
Cited by
377
References
69
Citations by year
2026: 12 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 24 · 2019: 21 · 2018: 18 · 2017: 20 · 2016: 24 · 2015: 19 · 2014: 22 · 2013: 15 · 2012: 23
FWCI
0.63
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory Processes and Influences
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Automotive Engineering › Spatial Cognition and Navigation
Keywords
hippocampus, episodic memory, spatial context, allocentric spatial representation, egocentric representation, medial temporal lobe, parietal cortex, Papez circuit, memory retrieval, virtual reality, hippocampal lesions, recollection, heading direction
MeSH terms
Animals, Hippocampus, Humans, Models, Neurological, Mental Recall, Space Perception

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