FW004 — Expedition

How does memory decide what to forget?

Professor Kenji TanakaRIKEN9 min readPodcastNeuroscienceMemoryBiology
Professor Kenji Tanaka

Podcast · 42 min

In conversation with Professor Kenji Tanaka

The Question

Active forgetting is not a failure of memory — it is a function of it.

The Researcher

Kenji Tanaka's group at RIKEN studies the molecular signatures of erasure during sleep.

The Research

Recent findings implicate REM-specific interneurons in selective memory pruning.

In Practice

Sleep clinicians are exploring implications for PTSD treatment.

What's Next

A collaboration with a paediatric hospital on developmental memory begins next year.

Further Reading

  • Why We SleepMatthew Walker