Memory & Cognition Job Talk - Pathways to episodic memory: Cognitive & brain processes that shape what we remember

Episodic memories orient us within the narratives of our own lives. They guide the way we make plans and decisions, interact with others, and understand and reflect on our past. At the same time, episodic memories are selective and, at times, imprecise. What are the processes that lead to differences in the quality of memories? In this talk, I will discuss the brain networks that contribute to memory reconstruction and how these processes shape what we remember. In our research, we have found evidence for dissociable cortico-hippocampal pathways that represent different kinds of information in memory, including preferences for object and spatiocontextual features as well as their perceptual specificity and emotional valence. I will also discuss recent efforts to understand ways in which memory reconstruction can be used as a tool for emotion regulation, as individuals attempt to control and update what they remember about an event. Together, these findings point to parallel memory pathways that can be flexibly engaged to represent and reconfigure a range of experiences.