title: Real-time neural coding of memory.
abstract: Recent identification of network-level functional coding units, termed neural cliques, in the hippocampus has allowed real-time patterns of memory traces to be mathematically described, intuitively visualized, and dynamically deciphered. Any given episodic event is represented and encoded by the activation of a set of neural clique assemblies that are organized in a categorical and hierarchical manner. This hierarchical feature-encoding pyramid is invariantly composed of the general feature-encoding clique at the bottom, sub-general feature-encoding cliques in the middle, and highly specific feature-encoding cliques at the top. This hierarchical and categorical organization of neural clique assemblies provides the network-level mechanism the capability of not only achieving vast storage capacity, but also generating commonalities from the individual behavioral episodes and converting them to the abstract concepts and generalized knowledge that are essential for intelligence and adaptive behaviors. Furthermore, activation patterns of the neural clique assemblies can be mathematically converted to strings of binary codes that would permit universal categorizations of the brain's internal representations across individuals and species. Such universal brain codes can also potentially facilitate the unprecedented brain-machine interface communications.
authors.affiliation: Center for Systems Neurobiology, Department of Pharmacology, Boston University, Boston, MA 02118, USA. jtsien@bu.edu
authors.forename: Joe Z
authors.initials: JZ
authors.lastname: Tsien
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003198:Computer Simulation; D006801:Humans; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000502:physiology*; D016571:Neural Networks, Computer; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*