---
OA_place: publisher
OA_type: hybrid
_id: '18879'
abstract:
- lang: eng
text: 'Our brain has remarkable computational power, generating sophisticated behaviors,
storing memories over an individual’s lifetime, and producing higher cognitive
functions. However, little of our neuroscience knowledge covers the human brain.
Is this organ truly unique, or is it a scaled version of the extensively studied
rodent brain? Combining multicellular patch-clamp recording with expansion-based
superresolution microscopy and full-scale modeling, we determined the cellular
and microcircuit properties of the human hippocampal CA3 region, a fundamental
circuit for memory storage. In contrast to neocortical networks, human hippocampal
CA3 displayed sparse connectivity, providing a circuit architecture that maximizes
associational power. Human synapses showed unique reliability, high precision,
and long integration times, exhibiting both species- and circuit-specific properties.
Together with expanded neuronal numbers, these circuit characteristics greatly
enhanced the memory storage capacity of CA3. Our results reveal distinct microcircuit
properties of the human hippocampus and begin to unravel the inner workings of
our most complex organ. '
acknowledged_ssus:
- _id: Bio
- _id: PreCl
- _id: LifeSc
- _id: M-Shop
- _id: ScienComp
acknowledgement: We thank Florian Marr for excellent technical assistance, Christina
Altmutter and Julia Flor for technical support, Alois Schlögl for programming, Todor
Asenov for development of the transportation box for human brain tissue, Tim Vogels
for guidance on simulations, Marcus Huber for mathematical advice, Walter Kaufmann
for assistance with handling frozen tissue, and Eleftheria Kralli-Beller for manuscript
editing. This research was supported by the Scientific Services Units (SSUs) of
ISTA, and we are grateful for assistance from Christoph Sommer and the Imaging and
Optics Facility, Preclinical Facility, Lab Support Facility, Miba Machine Shop,
and Scientific Computing. We are particularly grateful to the patient donors for
their support of this project and also acknowledge the excellent support of the
Medical University of Vienna Department of Neurosurgery staff; Romana Hoeftberger
and the Division of Neuropathology and Neurochemistry; Gregor Kasprian and the Division
of Neuroradiology and Musculoskeletal Radiology; and Christoph Baumgartner, Martha
Feucht, and Ekaterina Pataraia for their clinical care of the patients included
in this study. We thank Laura Jonkman, the NABCA biobank, and postmortem brain sample
donors for their support of this research. The project received funding from the
European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research
and innovation programme (advanced grant no. 692692 to P.J. and Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Actions Individual Fellowship no. 101026635 to J.F.W.), the Austrian Science Fund
(FWF; grant PAT 4178023 to P.J. and grant DK W1232 to M.R.T. and J.G.D.), the Austrian
Academy of Sciences (DOC fellowship 26137 to M.R.T.), and a NOMIS-ISTA fellowship
(to A.N.-O.).
article_processing_charge: Yes (via OA deal)
article_type: original
author:
- first_name: Jake
full_name: Watson, Jake
id: 63836096-4690-11EA-BD4E-32803DDC885E
last_name: Watson
orcid: 0000-0002-8698-3823
- first_name: Victor M
full_name: Vargas Barroso, Victor M
id: 2F55A9DE-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Vargas Barroso
- first_name: Rebecca
full_name: Morse, Rebecca
id: ceb89ae7-dc8d-11ea-abe3-da3301d0eab4
last_name: Morse
- first_name: Andrea C
full_name: Navas Olivé, Andrea C
id: 739d26c9-52e8-11ee-8d72-f14d3893b4ce
last_name: Navas Olivé
orcid: 0000-0002-9280-8597
- first_name: Mojtaba
full_name: Tavakoli, Mojtaba
id: 3A0A06F4-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Tavakoli
orcid: 0000-0002-7667-6854
- first_name: Johann G
full_name: Danzl, Johann G
id: 42EFD3B6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Danzl
orcid: 0000-0001-8559-3973
- first_name: Matthias
full_name: Tomschik, Matthias
last_name: Tomschik
- first_name: Karl
full_name: Rössler, Karl
last_name: Rössler
- first_name: Peter M
full_name: Jonas, Peter M
id: 353C1B58-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Jonas
orcid: 0000-0001-5001-4804
citation:
ama: Watson J, Vargas Barroso VM, Morse R, et al. Human hippocampal CA3 uses specific
functional connectivity rules for efficient associative memory. Cell. 2025;188(2):501-514.e18.
doi:10.1016/j.cell.2024.11.022
apa: Watson, J., Vargas Barroso, V. M., Morse, R., Navas Olivé, A. C., Tavakoli,
M., Danzl, J. G., … Jonas, P. M. (2025). Human hippocampal CA3 uses specific functional
connectivity rules for efficient associative memory. Cell. Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2024.11.022
chicago: Watson, Jake, Victor M Vargas Barroso, Rebecca Morse, Andrea C Navas Olivé,
Mojtaba Tavakoli, Johann G Danzl, Matthias Tomschik, Karl Rössler, and Peter M
Jonas. “Human Hippocampal CA3 Uses Specific Functional Connectivity Rules for
Efficient Associative Memory.” Cell. Elsevier, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2024.11.022.
ieee: J. Watson et al., “Human hippocampal CA3 uses specific functional connectivity
rules for efficient associative memory,” Cell, vol. 188, no. 2. Elsevier,
p. 501–514.e18, 2025.
ista: Watson J, Vargas Barroso VM, Morse R, Navas Olivé AC, Tavakoli M, Danzl JG,
Tomschik M, Rössler K, Jonas PM. 2025. Human hippocampal CA3 uses specific functional
connectivity rules for efficient associative memory. Cell. 188(2), 501–514.e18.
mla: Watson, Jake, et al. “Human Hippocampal CA3 Uses Specific Functional Connectivity
Rules for Efficient Associative Memory.” Cell, vol. 188, no. 2, Elsevier,
2025, p. 501–514.e18, doi:10.1016/j.cell.2024.11.022.
short: J. Watson, V.M. Vargas Barroso, R. Morse, A.C. Navas Olivé, M. Tavakoli,
J.G. Danzl, M. Tomschik, K. Rössler, P.M. Jonas, Cell 188 (2025) 501–514.e18.
corr_author: '1'
date_created: 2025-01-26T23:01:49Z
date_published: 2025-01-23T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2026-04-14T08:34:32Z
day: '23'
ddc:
- '570'
department:
- _id: JoDa
- _id: PeJo
- _id: GradSch
doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2024.11.022
ec_funded: 1
external_id:
isi:
- '001408395600001'
pmid:
- '39667938'
file:
- access_level: open_access
checksum: d5a818edc32d249cdf75e1bb5b70a4b7
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creator: dernst
date_created: 2025-01-27T08:46:33Z
date_updated: 2025-01-27T08:46:33Z
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file_name: 2025_Cell_Watson.pdf
file_size: 14082343
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intvolume: ' 188'
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language:
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month: '01'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
page: 501-514.e18
pmid: 1
project:
- _id: 25B7EB9E-B435-11E9-9278-68D0E5697425
call_identifier: H2020
grant_number: '692692'
name: Biophysics and circuit function of a giant cortical glutamatergic synapse
- _id: fc2be41b-9c52-11eb-aca3-faa90aa144e9
call_identifier: H2020
grant_number: '101026635'
name: Synaptic computations of the hippocampal CA3 circuitry
- _id: 6285a163-2b32-11ec-9570-8e204ca2dba5
grant_number: '26137'
name: Studying Organelle Structure and Function at Nanoscale Resolution with Expansion
Microscopy
- _id: 2548AE96-B435-11E9-9278-68D0E5697425
call_identifier: FWF
grant_number: W1232
name: Molecular Drug Targets
- _id: 8d9195e9-16d5-11f0-9cad-d075be887a1e
grant_number: PAT 4178023
name: Synaptic networks of human brain
- _id: 9B861AAC-BA93-11EA-9121-9846C619BF3A
name: NOMIS Fellowship Program
publication: Cell
publication_identifier:
eissn:
- 1097-4172
issn:
- 0092-8674
publication_status: published
publisher: Elsevier
quality_controlled: '1'
related_material:
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relation: earlier_version
status: public
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: Human hippocampal CA3 uses specific functional connectivity rules for efficient
associative memory
tmp:
image: /images/cc_by.png
legal_code_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode
name: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0)
short: CC BY (4.0)
type: journal_article
user_id: 2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
volume: 188
year: '2025'
...