---
title: "Retrieval Uncertainty Drives Rapid Consolidation of Confabulated Memories in Retrosplenial Cortex"
id: "biorxiv-3-retrieval-uncertainty-drives-rapid-consolidation-of-confabulated-memories-in"
canonical_url: "https://medichelpline.com/clinical-feed/biorxiv-3-retrieval-uncertainty-drives-rapid-consolidation-of-confabulated-memories-in"
content_type: "clinical_feed_article"
specialty: "Neurology"
source_name: "bioRxiv (Biomedical Preprints)"
source_url: "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.01.748171v1?rss=1"
published_at: "2026-09-04T12:00:00.000Z"
evidence_level: "Verified Feed"
license: "CC-BY-NC-4.0 / Informational Use"
---
# Retrieval Uncertainty Drives Rapid Consolidation of Confabulated Memories in Retrosplenial Cortex
## Provenance & Clinical Metadata
- **Canonical URL:** https://medichelpline.com/clinical-feed/biorxiv-3-retrieval-uncertainty-drives-rapid-consolidation-of-confabulated-memories-in
- **Specialty:** [Neurology](https://medichelpline.com/clinical-feed/neurology.md)
- **Primary Source:** bioRxiv (Biomedical Preprints)
- **Source URL:** [Original Journal Publication](https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.01.748171v1?rss=1)
- **Published At:** 2026-09-04T12:00:00.000Z
- **Evidence Rating:** Verified Feed
## Executive GIST (TL;DR)
- The study tested whether uncertainty during retrieval of past memories can generate and rapidly consolidate fabricated or **confabulated memories** for events that were never directly experienced. - Using chemogenetics, in vivo imaging, behavioral assays, and a new mapping method, the authors examined how higher order associations (HOA) form and become consolidated across brain regions. - Acquisition of HOA depended on activity of **dorsal CA1 parvalbumin interneurons** in an intact **hippocampus**, while retrieval of these confabulated associations required the **retrosplenial cortex (RSc)**. - The team developed Large-scale Brainwide Correlated Activity Mapping (**LaBCAM**) to identify functional connectivity changes across brain regions during uncertain retrieval; LaBCAM indicated that only uncertain remote retrieval engages canonical fear circuitry. - Longitudinal imaging of **dendritic spines** in RSc showed different patterns of spine reorganization during acquisition versus rapid systems consolidation of HOA, implicating structural plasticity in RSc in confabulation consolidation. - Confabulated HOA appeared early in an Alzheimer’s disease model (APP/PS1) and were also present in aged animals, suggesting early vulnerability of this mechanism in disease and aging. - The authors conclude that retrieval uncertainty can transfer conditioning to novel contexts and that such fabricated memories undergo rapid consolidation involving RSc circuitry and spine remodeling. - Specific experimental parameters, quantitative effect sizes, sample sizes, and full methodological details were reported in the source but are not reproduced here; the preprint provides supplemental material for those details.
## Clinical Analysis & Structured Key Points
Retrieval uncertainty drives rapid consolidation of confabulated memories in retrosplenial cortex | bioRxiv Skip to main content New Results Retrieval uncertainty drives rapid consolidation of confabulated memories in retrosplenial cortex View ORCID Profile Aditya Singh , View ORCID Profile Nirupam Das , View ORCID Profile Palash Ahuja , Aayush Banerjee , View ORCID Profile Srujana Kalvae , Aparajita sane , View ORCID Profile Sankhanava Kundu , Sugandhita Rajesh , Titli Saha , View ORCID Profile Balaji Jayaprakash doi: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.09.01.748171 Aditya Singh 1 Center for Neuroscience, Indian Institute of Science Bangalore; Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site ORCID record for Aditya Singh Nirupam Das 2 Center for Neuroscience, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore -560012; Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site ORCID record for Nirupam Das Palash Ahuja 3 Center for Neuroscience, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore; Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site ORCID record for Palash Ahuja Aayush Banerjee 4 Center for Neuroscience, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore - 560012; Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site Srujana Kalvae 5 Center for Neuroscience, Indian Institute of Science Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site ORCID record for Srujana Kalvae Aparajita sane 4 Center for Neuroscience, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore - 560012; Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site Sankhanava Kundu 2 Center for Neuroscience, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore -560012; Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site ORCID record for Sankhanava Kundu Sugandhita Rajesh 4 Center for Neuroscience, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore - 560012; Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site Titli Saha 4 Center for Neuroscience, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore - 560012; Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site Balaji Jayaprakash 4 Center for Neuroscience, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore - 560012; Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site ORCID record for Balaji Jayaprakash For correspondence: jbalaji{at}iisc.ac.in Abstract Info/History Metrics Supplementary material Preview PDF Abstract Learning to make associations in the absence of direct reinforcement, based on previous memories of reward or punishment, is an evolutionary trait quintessential for survival. Little is known about if such higher order associations (HOA) can lead to fabrication of new memories for unreal events. We probed if uncertainty during retrieval of old memory representations can trigger such confabulation. Using chemogenetics, in vivo imaging, and behavior we show that uncertainty in memory perception can not only transfer conditioning to hitherto unexperienced novel context but also can get rapidly consolidated. We find while acquisition of HOA require dorsal-CA1 parvalbumin interneuron activity in intact hippocampus, retrieval requires retrosplenial cortex (RSc). We develop an automated Large-scale Brainwide Correlated Activity Mapping (LaBCAM) method to identify functional connectivity changes across different brain regions in such scenarios. LaBCAM finds that only uncertain remote retrieval engages canonical fear circuitry while regular retrieval does not. Longitudinal imaging of dendritic spines in RSc, a region involved in detection and context-dependent conflict resolution, reveals differential reorganization of spines during acquisition and rapid systems consolidation of HOA. Interestingly, we find HOA is implicated early in AD mice model (APP/PS1) and also in aged animals. Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. Funder Information Declared DST SERB , EMR/2017/004155 ANRF , CRG/2022/003148 Copyright The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC 4.0 International license . Back to top Previous Next Posted September 04, 2026. Download PDF Supplementary Material Email Thank you for your interest in spreading the word about bioRxiv. NOTE: Your email address is requested solely to identify you as the sender of this article. Your Email * Your Name * Send To * Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas. You are going to email the following Retrieval uncertainty drives rapid consolidation of confabulated memories in retrosplenial cortex Message Subject (Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from bioRxiv Message Body (Your Name) thought you would like to see this page from the bioRxiv website. Your Personal Message CAPTCHA This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions. Share Retrieval uncertainty drives rapid consolidation of confabulated memories in retrosplenial cortex Aditya Singh , Nirupam Das , Palash Ahuja , Aayush Banerjee , Srujana Kalvae , Aparajita sane , Sankhanava Kundu , Sugandhita Rajesh , Titli Saha , Balaji Jayaprakash bioRxiv 2026.09.01.748171; doi: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.09.01.748171 Share This Article: Copy Citation Tools Retrieval uncertainty drives rapid consolidation of confabulated memories in retrosplenial cortex Aditya Singh , Nirupam Das , Palash Ahuja , Aayush Banerjee , Srujana Kalvae , Aparajita sane , Sankhanava Kundu , Sugandhita Rajesh , Titli Saha , Balaji Jayaprakash bioRxiv 2026.09.01.748171; doi: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.09.01.748171 Citation Manager Formats BibTeX Bookends EasyBib EndNote (tagged) EndNote 8 (xml) Medlars Mendeley Papers RefWorks Tagged Ref Manager RIS Zotero Tweet Widget Facebook Like Google Plus One Subject Areas All Articles Animal Behavior and Cognition (7962) Biochemistry (18614) Bioengineering (14760) Bioinformatics (44108) Biophysics (22441) Cancer Biology (19580) Cell Biology (26727) Clinical Trials (138) Developmental Biology (13895) Ecology (20878) Epidemiology (2067) Evolutionary Biology (25307) Genetics (16093) Genomics (23382) Immunology (18587) Microbiology (42208) Molecular Biology (17937) Neuroscience (92823) Paleontology (693) Pathology (2967) Pharmacology and Toxicology (5060) Physiology (8054) Plant Biology (15897) Scientific Communication and Education (2091) Synthetic Biology (4536) Systems Biology (10180) Zoology (2375)
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