Memory processing in neurodevelopmental disorders: linking behavioral, circuits, and molecular scales

Despite long-standing investigations into the neural and molecular correlates of memory, there persists a lack of comprehensive understanding of the cellular and subcellular processes that go awry in cases of neurodivergent and neuropathological phenotypes. While the mechanisms of memory encoding, consolidation, and retrieval are well-characterized in neurotypical models, disruptions in these processes often manifest as cognitive dysfunctions in the contexts of neurodevelopment and neurodegeneration. In this review, we specifically examine the molecular frameworks of memory processing arising from neurodevelopmental disorders. Given that developmental disorders affecting early stages of neural circuitry formation are manifested much later, in the adolescent or adult stages of life, it is important to delineate exactly how the molecular underpinnings of memory formation lead to atypical behavioral phenotypes manifested in different neurodevelopmental conditions. By integrating behavioral phenotypes with underlying circuit and molecular pathologies, this paper argues for a multiscale perspective to understand and address the divergence between neurotypical and neurodivergent memory function.