Construct · 1 fields · 2 citations

engram: a standalone construct

One name. One construct. A landmark on the map.

● anchor · a standalone construct Nearest construct by meaning·not indexed
engram1 CONSTRUCTMemory traceSEMON · MEMORY TRACE

A single standalone construct; nearby constructs are located against it in the Collider. Tap a field for its definition, unit, and measures.

Neuroscience

a physical memory trace: the biophysical change in neurons that stores one specific memory

In neuroscience an engram is the enduring physical and biochemical change in a defined population of neurons that encodes a specific memory, such that reactivating those cells retrieves it. The term was coined by the zoologist Richard Semon in The Mneme, and the modern cellular search for the engram is framed by Josselyn, Köhler and Frankland in Finding the engram. Here the engram is an empirically localisable neuronal ensemble that can be tagged, silenced and reactivated. This is sharply different from the Scientology meaning, where 'engram' names a doctrinal recording of past pain with no demonstrated neural substrate.[1][2]

Unit
One engram, a reactivatable neuronal ensemble (its cells and synaptic weights)
Recovery means
Tag the activity-defined ensemble during encoding, then reactivate it (optogenetically or chemogenetically) to evoke the memory
Measured by
Activity-dependent cell labelling, optogenetic or chemogenetic reactivation, and loss- or gain-of-function on the tagged cells

Next

Run it through the Collider, or take the citations with you.

See how engram sits against neighbouring constructs in the Collider, or export every reference on this page in one click.

Open in ColliderExport BibTeXReport this entry

Nearby constructs

ensemble3 fields · 6 citationsjingle · one word, three constructsmemory6 fields · 18 citationsjingle · one name, six constructspopulation4 fields · 4 citationsjingle · one word, four constructs

References

  1. Semon, R. W. (1921). The mneme. George Allen & Unwin. (Original work published 1904) ISBN 9781548545406
  2. Josselyn, S. A., Köhler, S., & Frankland, P. W. (2015). Finding the engram. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 16(9), 521–534. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn4000

Cited on this page?

Confirm your construct, or correct us.

If your work is cited behind one of these entries, you know better than we do whether we captured the meaning right. Confirm it, suggest an edit, or dispute it, and your name goes on the entry as an author who has checked it, linked to your ORCID.

Claim your construct