Gray Umbach, Pranish Kantak, Joshua Jacobs, Michael J. Kahana, Brad E. Pfeiffer, Michael Sperling, Bradley Lega. Time cells in the human hippocampus and entorhinal cortex support episodic memory. bioRxiv 2020.02.03.932749; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.02.03.932749

Abstract
“The organization of temporal information is critical for the encoding and retrieval of episodic memories. In the rodent hippocampus and entorhinal cortex, recent evidence suggests that temporal information is encoded by a population of “time cells.” We identify time cells in humans using intracranial microelectrode recordings obtained from 27 human epilepsy patients who performed an episodic memory task. We show that time cell activity predicts the temporal organization of episodic memories. A significant portion of these cells exhibits phase precession, a key phenomenon not previously seen in human recordings. These findings establish a cellular mechanism for the representation of temporal information in the human brain needed to form episodic memories.”

Gray Umbach, Pranish Kantak, Joshua Jacobs, Michael J. Kahana, Brad E. Pfeiffer, Michael Sperling, Bradley Lega. Time cells in the human hippocampus and entorhinal cortex support episodic memory. bioRxiv 2020.02.03.932749; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.02.03.932749