A functional hypothesis for adult hippocampal neurogenesis: Avoidance of catastrophic interference in the dentate gyrus

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Item Type:	Article
Title:	A functional hypothesis for adult hippocampal neurogenesis: Avoidance of catastrophic interference in the dentate gyrus
Creators Name:	Wiskott, L., Rasch, M.J. and Kempermann, G.
Abstract:	The dentate gyrus is part of the hippocampal memory system and special in that it generates new neurons throughout life. Here we discuss the question of what the functional role of these new neurons might be. Our hypothesis is that they help the dentate gyrus to avoid the problem of catastrophic interference when adapting to new environments. We assume that old neurons are rather stable and preserve an optimal encoding learned for known environments while new neurons are plastic to adapt to those features that are qualitatively new in a new environment. A simple network simulation demonstrates that adding new plastic neurons is indeed a successful strategy for adaptation without catastrophic interference.
Keywords:	Hippocampus, Network Model, Autoencoder Network, Adaptation
Source:	Hippocampus
ISSN:	1050-9631
Publisher:	Wiley
Volume:	16
Number:	3
Page Range:	329-343
Date:	2006
Official Publication:	https://doi.org/10.1002/hipo.20167
PubMed:	View item in PubMed

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