Dr. Marielena Sosa
University of Colorado, Boulder
Date: October 23rd, 2026
Time: 12:00pm – 1:00pm
Location: Science Building 1111
A Flexible Neural Code for Memory
Remembering the details of our experiences is critical to survival. For instance, animals must be able to recall the locations of rewards in the environment such as food and water sources. The strength of a memory often depends on the cognitive goals and physiological state of the individual during the experience. It is not well understood, however, how such cognitive and physiological demands alter the neural substrates of memory storage and retrieval to support—or not support—the organism’s needs. In this talk, I will present our past and current work on how the demand to find remembered reward locations mediates information storage and memory flexibility in the hippocampus, the brain’s spatial memory center. We use two-photon calcium imaging in mice to reveal that dynamic neuronal ensembles within the hippocampus amplify behaviorally relevant reward information while simultaneously preserving a stable map of space. These findings advance our understanding of how memory processes are flexibly recruited according to the animal’s behavioral needs. In our ongoing work, we are leveraging rodent spatial navigation as a model system to uncover how memory processes change at the neural level during one of the most profound physiological demands in mammalian life: pregnancy and the postpartum period.