Episodic memory neural mechanisms: patterns, connectivity, and developmental dynamics

Episodic memory enables individuals to encode, store, and retrieve personally experienced events in their spatiotemporal contexts. This review synthesizes current cognitive neuroscience findings and proposes an integrative framework highlighting three key dimensions. First, distinct subregions of the medial temporal lobe (e.g., hippocampus, perirhinal cortex) and large-scale neocortical networks (e.g., ventral and dorsal frontoparietal networks, default mode network) play specialized roles in episodic memory processing. Second, episodic memory representations vary in both content and format, exhibiting stage-specific (e.g., encoding vs. retrieval) and region-specific (e.g., hippocampus vs. neocortex) neural patterns, as well as transformations during memory formation. Third, successful episodic memory relies on dynamic functional connectivity between the hippocampus and neocortex, supported by corresponding structural pathways. Furthermore, age and sex exert significant modulatory effects on hippocampus-neocortex connectivity and associated morphological structure. Future research should further clarify the specific roles of medial temporal and neocortical regions in episodic memory formation and examine developmental changes in inter-regional information flow, with particular attention to how age and sex shape hippocampal connectivity and subregional contributions.