HOW ARE MEMORIES FORMED, ORGANIZED, AND UPDATED?

Our lab investigates how experiences are encoded, linked, and transformed over time. We are particularly interested in how memories are structured—how recalling one event can cue others that share a common context—and how that organization shapes what we do (and don’t) remember. Memory is not fixed: it changes as we reinterpret or re-encounter the past, accumulate new experiences, or sleep. One focus of our work is on understanding how memories are updated, whether through prediction errors triggered by surprise, the accumulation of new experiences, or the neurological processes that unfold during sleep.
In parallel, we are examining how sleep contributes to memory transformation across different timescales. This includes investigating how a single night of sleep alters the accessibility, accuracy, and structure of recent experiences, and how real-world memories become more integrated—or more decontextualized—over months and years. We are also exploring how smartphone-based memory cues can be paired with sleep-based reactivation techniques to strengthen meaningful memories outside the lab. Our goal is to understand not only how memory evolves, but how we might harness these dynamics to support memory across the lifespan.

If you’d like to learn more, Morgan discusses some of this research in Derren Brown’s Bootcamp for Memory, The Session with Tom Swarbrick, and on The Brain Made Plain podcast.

WHY DOES MEMORY MATTER—AND WHAT HAPPENS WHEN IT FAILS?

Memory impairment is one of the most common and devastating consequences of neurological damage. Yet we still don’t fully understand why injury to certain brain regions leads to such profound memory loss. Our work suggests that some memory deficits may actually stem from earlier failures in perception: if a stimulus is not represented with sufficient precision in the first place, it may never be available for later recall. In this view, memory and perception are not distinct cognitive functions, but rely on overlapping neural representations and shared computational mechanisms.

But memory loss isn’t just a neurological disruption—it’s deeply personal. Autobiographical memory helps us make sense of who we are, maintain social bonds, and find meaning in everyday life. We are investigating how memory contributes to identity and purpose, and how these functions may be preserved or reshaped across the lifespan. The way we remember our past is influenced not only by internal processes but also by the social environment in which recall occurs. This work connects the neural mechanisms of memory with its role in well-being, communication, and our sense of self.

To see how these questions intersect with real lives, you can watch Morgan speak about memory loss and brain function in the Amazon Prime documentary 50,000 First Dates, which follows one woman’s journey to understand her sudden-onset amnesia.

CAN WE ENHANCE MEMORY IN EVERYDAY LIFE?

Drawing on insights from cognitive neuroscience, we created HippoCamera, a smartphone app that helps people capture everyday moments and reinforce them through brief, structured replays—mirroring the brain’s own consolidation process. We are testing HippoCamera across a wide range of contexts, from healthy aging and mild cognitive impairment to traumatic brain injury, depression, and even social anxiety, where strengthening positive autobiographical memories may lessen the grip of maladaptive self-schemas. Our goal is to deliver accessible, evidence-based support to anyone whose daily life could benefit from a clearer, more reliable memory.

HippoCamera is also a research platform. Because the app records authentic, time-stamped events and allows us to schedule precise replays, it lets us ask fundamental questions about how memory operates “in the wild.” By pairing ecologically rich data with experimental control, HippoCamera turns everyday experience into a living laboratory for memory science. Researchers can use it to explore a wide range of questions—from how sleep and dreaming influence memory consolidation, to how novelty in daily life shapes memory, emotion, and well-being—offering a flexible framework for studying how memory unfolds beyond the lab.

This work has been featured in a range of media stories, including a CBC short documentary and other coverage available here.

HOW CAN WE STUDY LANGUAGE IN PEOPLE WHO DON’T SPEAK?

Roughly one-third of autistic individuals are minimally speaking, meaning they cannot use speech reliably to communicate. For many, this does not reflect a lack of understanding, but rather a profound disconnect between what they know and their motor capacity to express it. Yet because speech is so often used as a proxy for comprehension, their cognitive abilities are frequently underestimated or overlooked entirely.

We are developing more equitable ways to study language and cognition in a population routinely left out of cognitive neuroscience research. Using noninvasive brain imaging methods—including both fMRI and newer approaches like HD-DOT—we can examine how nonspeaking autistic individuals understand language without requiring them to speak or move in a controlled way. Our research aims to distinguish between difficulties in motor control and actual language comprehension, helping to clarify why some autistic individuals cannot speak—and how to best support them. This work has the potential to transform how we assess, understand, and empower nonspeaking people.

You can read more in U of T Magazine: “When words won’t cooperate”.