The DFG-funded research unit FOR 2812 "Constructing scenarios of the past: A new framework in episodic memory" is made up of a group of 9 researchers. Seven from the Ruhr University Bochum and two from the University of Münster. We hail from 3 different fields:

• computational neuroscience
• psychology
• philosophy

Funding for this unit runs from 01.07.2019 - 30.06.2022.

Our objective is to address fundamental questions about scenario construction during episodic memory recall.

• What are scenarios?
• What are the central features of episodic memory that can be explained by scenario construction during recall?
• How is scenario construction used to retrieve information?
• What are the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying scenario construction?
• How is scenario construction modulated/influenced by internal and external factors?
• What are the functions of scenario construction?

We address these questions in nine strongly interacting projects, which combine methods from computational neuroscience, experimental psychology and philosophy. Experimental projects study the neural mechanisms via fMRI and behavioral outcomes of scenario construction, especially after external interventions. Modeling projects make the computations explicit and study how they depend on parameters and how they interact with each other to give rise to complex functions. Finally, philosophical projects address fundamental questions that arise within and about our framework.