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Gradients of Hippocampal-Cortical Connectivity Capture Traits in Autobiographical Memory

Poster Session C - Sunday, March 8, 2026, 5:00 – 7:00 pm PDT, Fairview/Kitsilano Ballroom

Shikang Peng^1,2 (), Bradley Buchsbaum^1,2, Brian Levine^1,2; ¹Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Academy and Education, ²University of Toronto

Autobiographical memory (AM) is a multidimensional construct encompassing diverse mnemonic traits that vary across individuals. Using functional MRI data from four sites comprising 446 young adults, we conducted a multi-site analysis. Specifically, we assessed individual differences using the Survey of Autobiographical Memory (SAM), focusing on the self-reported episodic, semantic, and spatial AM tendencies. Given prior evidence linking medial temporal-neocortical connectivity to traits AM and functional specialization along the hippocampal long axis (posterior: fine-grained details; anterior: gist-based recall), we characterized subject-specific hippocampal anatomy along the anterior-posterior hippocampal gradient (using hippunfold). We then derived gradient position-encoded connectivity profiles across 300 cortical nodes (Schaefer atlas) to examine their associations with trait AM scores. Specifically, connectivity between the right aHPC and the left angular gyrus, as well as the right superior frontal gyrus, showed significant associations with trait episodic AM. Additionally, right aHPC connectivity with the posterior visual area was associated with trait spatial AM. Together, these findings provide large-scale evidence that individual differences in autobiographical memory map onto graded variations along the HPC axis, offering a refined account of how mnemonic traits are embedded within hippocampal-cortical networks.

Topic Area: LONG-TERM MEMORY: Episodic