Decoding memory formation in mice
Gisella Vetere
Team Leader Cerebral Codes and Circuits Connectivity – ESPCI, Paris

Abstract
How the brain processes information from the world outside us to save it in the neural network?
In my laboratory we are interested in understanding how memories are formed and consolidated into the neuronal network.
Can we implant false memories bypassing the external experience via artificial manipulation of known neuronal pattern? In this talk I will show that, by simply knowing the identity of the cells that are responsible for encoding a specific external stimulus, we can create a memory of an event never experienced before.
How are associative memories formed? Which cells represent a memory, and when are they engaged? By visualizing and tagging cells based on their calcium influx with unparalleled temporal precision, we identified non-overlapping dorsal CA1 neuronal ensembles that are differentially active during associative fear memory acquisition. During this talk I will delineate the different identities of the cell ensembles active during learning, and revealed which ones form the core engram and are essential for memory formation.

Invited by Sarah Mondoloni
Monday 1 June 2026 at 11am – Inmed conference room