How the Brain Turns Memories Into Actions | Dr. Oliver Barnstedt

What is a memory, and how does the brain transform our past experiences into actions?
In this episode of Neuroscience and Beyond, I speak with Dr. Oliver Barnstedt, neuroscientist and group leader at the European Neuroscience Institute Göttingen, whose research explores the neural circuits underlying memory and behavior.
We discuss what memories actually are, how they are represented across neural circuits, and why remembering is not simply a matter of retrieving a fixed record of the past. Dr. Barnstedt explains how his lab uses techniques such as calcium imaging and two-photon microscopy to observe the activity of hundreds of neurons and investigate how memory-related brain regions communicate with the systems involved in action and behavior.
We also explore the relationship between the hippocampus and other brain regions, including the nucleus accumbens, and discuss an often-overlooked structure called the mammillary body and its potential role in memory.
Along the way, our conversation takes us from the neuroscience of memory and decision-making to consciousness, Alzheimer's disease, scientific discovery, and the challenges of understanding the brain as an interconnected system.
#Neuroscience #Memory #Brain #Podcast #Science
Supported by the International Max Planck Research School for Neurosciences in #Göttingen, the European Neuroscience Institute, Cluster of Excellence Multiscale Bioimaging, as well as SFB1286
Neuroscience and Beyond team:
Svilen Georgiev
Kristina Jevdokimenko
Ahsen Konaç Sayıcı
Laura van Agen