Memory in continuous, real-life experience
Real experience comes without an explicit study or test phase. The brain must determine on its own when to encode and when to retrieve, timing fast neural processes to the ongoing flow of information. We study how fast memory processes are embedded in continuous experience.
Key publications
Michelmann, S., Hasson, U., & Norman, K. A. (2023). Evidence that event boundaries are access points for memory retrieval.
Psychological Science, 34(3), 326–344.
Michelmann, S., Price, A. R., Aubrey, B., Strauss, C. K., Doyle, W. K., Friedman, D., Dugan, P. C., Devinsky, O., Devore, S., Flinker, A., Hasson, U., & Norman, K. A. (2021). Moment-by-moment tracking of naturalistic learning and its underlying hippocampo-cortical interactions.
Nature Communications, 12, Article 5394.
Event knowledge and episodic memory
We perceive experience as structured events, such as "train rides" or "restaurant visits". Generalized knowledge of how such events typically unfold can shape episodic memory formation and retrieval. We investigate the interaction between general knowledge and specific episodic memories.
Key publications
Michelmann, S., Dugan, P., Doyle, W., Friedman, D., Melloni, L., Strauss, C. K., Devore, S., Flinker, A., Devinsky, O., Hasson, U., & Norman, K. A. (2025). Fast-timescale hippocampal processes bridge between slowly unfurling neocortical states during memory search.
bioRxiv.
Michelmann, S., Kumar, M., Norman, K. A., & Toneva, M. (2025). Large language models can segment narrative events similarly to humans.
Behavior Research Methods, 57(1), Article 39.
Michelmann, S., Price, A. R., Aubrey, B., Strauss, C. K., Doyle, W. K., Friedman, D., Dugan, P. C., Devinsky, O., Devore, S., Flinker, A., Hasson, U., & Norman, K. A. (2021). Moment-by-moment tracking of naturalistic learning and its underlying hippocampo-cortical interactions.
Nature Communications, 12, Article 5394.
Temporal dynamics of memory
Memory can be remarkably precise in time: we can reproduce a melody heard only once with striking temporal accuracy. Yet we can also search through continuous memories much faster than we originally experienced them. We investigate how the brain reconciles fast memory search with temporally accurate representations.
Key publications
Michelmann, S., Staresina, B. P., Bowman, H., & Hanslmayr, S. (2019). Speed of time-compressed forward replay flexibly changes in human episodic memory.
Nature Human Behaviour, 3(2), 143–154.
Michelmann, S., Bowman, H., & Hanslmayr, S. (2016). The temporal signature of memories: Identification of a general mechanism for dynamic memory replay in humans.
PLOS Biology, 14(8), e1002528.
