Janice Chen
Real-world memory and the brain
How do we construct and retrieve memories of complex real-world episodes? In this research we use realistic stimuli (such as movies and narratives) and behaviors (such as spoken recall) that contain rich natural semantics and unfold continuously across multiple timescales. Employing temporal and spatial pattern analysis methods with functional brain imaging data, we ask how mnemonic and sensory systems operate together dynamically to create the present moment.
...
In the mind, the present moment is a convergence point of two information streams: one, a continuous flow of sensory input from the outside world; and two, a series of elements from our past experiences, i.e., memories. Memories may be triggered by sensory stimuli, they may themselves cue more memories, and they may change the way incoming stimuli are interpreted, all of which become part and parcel of our current experience.
Past information casts an influence across multiple timescales: events that occurred a moment ago, a minute ago, and a day ago may all impact the present. In order to understand how the mind and brain work, we need an account of how memories of past events, across multiple timescales, continuously influence and merge with ongoing perception and behavior.
Studying real memory requires using real stimuli. Scientists often trade realism for control; we use lists or configurations of random items, attempting to isolate selected variables. However, this approach can strip away the very richness and complexity that made memory such a compelling topic in the first place, and cause us to neglect phenomena that emerge only when stimuli are as dynamic and detailed as the real world.
...
Datasets
Sherlock
Data
Princeton Dataspace (preprocessed NIFTI)
https://dataspace.princeton.edu/jspui/handle/88435/dsp01nz8062179
OpenNeuro (Raw BIDS)
https://openneuro.org/datasets/ds001132/versions/1.0.0
Datalad (preprocessed for MATLAB tutorial)
http://datasets.datalad.org/?dir=/workshops/mind-2017/sherlock
Tutorial (including movie annotations and analysis code)
https://github.com/Summer-MIND/mind_2018/tree/master/tutorials/sherlock_nifti_kit_v2_withdata
Publications & Preprints that use the Sherlock dataset
(from our group and others)
Chen PH et al. (2016) NIPS (conference paper)
Chen, Leong et al. (2017) Nature Neuroscience
Baldassano et al. (2017) Neuron
Zadbood et al. (2017) Cerebral Cortex
Vodrahalli et al. (2017) NeuroImage
Tan et al. (2019) arXiv
Thornton & Tamir (2020) Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience
Jolly et al. (2020) Neuroimage
Kim et al. (2020) Neuropsychologia
Brandman et al. (2021) Communications Biology
Manning (2021) Psychological Review
Heusser et al. (2021) Nature Human Behavior
Liu et al. (2022) Cerebral Cortex
Film Festival
Data
https://openneuro.org/datasets/ds004042/versions/1.0.0
Papers
Lee, Chen, & Hasson (2023) Data in Brief
Lee & Chen (2022) Nature Communications [link]
Lee & Chen (2022) ELife [link]
The Twilight Zone
People
Rolando Masis
Postdoc
Yoonjung Lee
Graduate Student
Xian Li
Graduate Student
Brian Winston
Graduate Student
Flory Huang
Graduate Student
Sammy Tavassoli
Graduate Student
Colette Youstra
Lab Manager
Anna Hu
Postbac Research Assistant
Kahlyn Eckles
Postbac Research Assistant
Undergraduate Research Assistants
Lab Alumni
Postdocs:
Lisa Musz - Scholar page
Buddhika Bellana - https://www.bellanalab.com/
Research Staff:
Zoey Zuo - Scholar page
Savannah Born - Scholar page
Graduate Students:
Yoonjin Nah
Peter Johnson
Undergraduate Researchers:
Qingwei Zhang
Amanda Liu
Kenz Wilkinson
Edward Halpin
Katelyn Macholl
Elly Yeom
Subin Han
Michelle Rodriguez
Paulina Medina
Ria Gualano
Elizabeth Im
Sydney Baek
Ben Du
Positions Available
Not actively recruiting.