Towards an Integrative Model of the Relationship Between Episodic Memory and Novelty Detection Through a Behavioural and Neuropsychological Approach

"As memorizing new information relies on distinguishing the new from the familiar, novelty detection is closely tied to memory. Yet, the exact nature of this link remains unclearare they two sides of the same function or rather distinct yet interacting processes? Critically, there are different types of novelty: absolute (new stimulus) or contextual (familiar stimulus in unexpected context). The ultimate goal of the MSCA ""DENOVO"" project is to develop an integrative model of the relationships between episodic memory and these novelty types. Specifically, I will test the way novelty types interact with memory: unitary relation for absolute vs. independence for contextual. I will design innovative tasks and use complementary approaches of neuroimaging, neuropsychology, and cognitive psychology in 3 work packages(i) a correlational study in volunteers aged >55 to examine the relationship between novelty and memory, (ii) a neuropsychological study with memory-impaired patients (probable Alzheimers disease (AD) and amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment) to probe the impact of underlying brains network dysfunction and to characterize the patterns of impairments across novelty types at AD stages, and (iii) analysis of longitudinal data from a cohort of subjects aged >60 to study the temporality of changes in novelty types in relation to memory decline and brain regions atrophy. Beyond ground-breaking advances in understanding memory function, the insights will be of great interest to clinicians for both diagnosis and rehabilitation of memory disorders. Altered precociously in AD, absolute novelty may be an early diagnosis marker while contextual novelty, which boosts memory encoding, may be a compensation strategy. Personally, thanks to the expertise of my host and secondment labs, DENOVO will equip me with essential technical and clinical skills, advancing my long-term career goal of conducting research using neuropsychological approaches to study episodic memory function."