Study Illuminates the Structural Features of Memory Formation at the Cellular and Subcellular Levels NIH-funded study uses cutting-edge imaging techniques to reconstruct features underlying learning and memory in the mouse brain March 20, 2025 • Media Advisory

https://www.nimh.nih.gov/news/science-updates/2025/study-illuminates-the-structural-features-of-memory-formation-at-the-cellular-and-subcellular-levels In a recent study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), researchers shed new light on memory encoding. The researchers exposed mice to a conditioning task and examined their hippocampus about one week later using cutting-edge technology such as 3-D electron microscopy and artificial intelligence. Researchers discovered that neurons involved in memory formation were not preferentially connected. They also found that these neurons reorganized their connections through an atypical connection called a multi-synaptic bouton. This study sheds new light on the fundamentally flexible nature of memory encoding and raises new questions and ideas for future exploration. Read More Study Findings