On March 10, 2026, the Department of Psychology is thrilled to host Dr. Lila Davachi, Professor of Psychology at Columbia University, as our distinguished speaker.
Why do some experiences stay with us for years, while others disappear almost instantly? Dr. Davachi will explore this question and more.
EVENT SCHEDULE
Registration: 4:45 – 5:15 pm PST
Lecture and Q&A: 5:15 – 6:30 pm PST
Reception: 6:30 – 7:30 pm PST
This event will be hosted online and in-person.
TITLE
The wisdom of the unconscious mind: offline reactivation consolidates, integrates and updates knowledge.
Dr. Davachi’s talk abstract and bio are below the RSVP form.
RSVP
RSVP for the event details and to let us know if you plan to attend!
ABSTRACT
Why do some experiences stay with us for years, while others disappear almost instantly? For decades, scientists have known that a brain region called the hippocampus is essential for forming new memories—dramatically illustrated by patients with hippocampal damage who can no longer store new life events in lasting detail.
In this talk, I will share our research on what the brain does after an experience ends. We have found that the hippocampus often “replays” recent moments—almost like a highlight reel— during quiet rest. This replay is not random: it is shaped by the features of our life experiences such as reward, threat, and uncertainty about what might happen next. Importantly, the more strongly an experience is reactivated after the fact, the more likely it is to become a stable, lasting memory. At the same time, this post-experience processing doesn’t just influence what we remember later—it can shape the brain’s state in the present, biasing how effectively we learn new information that comes next.
Finally, by tracking how people form multiple related memories over time, we show that the brain naturally organizes experiences into meaningful structure—linking related events while preserving the details that make each episode unique. Together, this work helps explain how the brain builds lasting memory and knowledge from everyday life.
ABOUT
Dr. Lila Davachi explores how memories form, consolidate and are later retrieved in the human brain. Dr. Davachi received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Barnard College and her Masters and Ph.D. in Neurobiology from Yale University. She conducted her post-doctoral research at the Massachusetts Institute for Technology in the Brain and Cognitive sciences department. She started her research group at the New York University in 2004 where she was Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience and served as the Director of the Center for Learning, Memory and Emotion at New York University. She moved her research group to Columbia University in 2017 where she continues to conduct behavioral and neuroimaging investigations into how humans encode and consolidate their experiences in memory and how these memories are organized into knowledge. Lila is a recipient of the prestigious Young Investigator Award from the Cognitive Neuroscience Society in 2009 and Columbia University’s Lenfest Distinguished Faculty Award. She is an elected member of the Society of Experimental Psychologists (SEP) and the Association for Psychological Sciences (APS).
ABOUT
The annual Quinn Memorial Lecture brings together the UBC Psychology community and friends for an evening of dialogue and a chance to learn first-hand about some of the most innovative psychology research from renowned experts. The lecture is made possible by a generous gift to our department from prominent alumnus, Dr. Michael J. Quinn (1927-2004). Learn more.
View all Quinn Memorial Lecture recordings
We acknowledge that UBC’s Vancouver Point Grey campus is situated on the traditional, ancestral, unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam).