(provided by candidate): The ability to retrieve qualitative details or associations surrounding a past event, defined as episodic long- term memory (LTM), is essential for higher-order cognition. Brain imaging and neuropsychological studies implicate ventrolateral regions of prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) and dorsolateral regions of the prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in subserving essential cognitive control functions. Most neuroimaging studies highlight the role of VLPFC in encoding, but few studies find clear evidence that DLPFC contributes to successful LTM encoding. As a result, there has been little research examining theories of PFC function in LTM encoding that integrate the function of both the VLPFC and DLPFC. My previous research provided evidence that DLPFC supports the active encoding of inter-item associations in LTM. Building on this research, the specific aim of the current proposal seeks to test an integrative theory of prefrontal (PFC) function in LTM encoding and proposes that VLPFC and DLPFC make necessary and distinct contributions to LTM encoding. Specifically, I hypothesize that: a) VLPFC contributes to encoding distinct item information into LTM and b) DLPFC contributes to encoding distinct relational information into LTM. I will employ a novel and innovative encoding paradigm and use a converging set of state-of-the-art methodologies to address these hypotheses which will permit me to make precise statements about the necessity and the function of PFC subregions in LTM encoding. Relevance: Impairments in the control processes that support LTM, as seen in psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, depression and attention deficit disorder have a strong negative impact on patients'quality of life. Research that examines how memory encoding processes operate in the brain can help develop more effective diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for individuals with memory disorders.
| Blumenfeld, Robert S; Bliss, Daniel P; D'Esposito, Mark (2018) Quantitative Anatomical Evidence for a Dorsoventral and Rostrocaudal Segregation within the Nonhuman Primate Frontal Cortex. J Cogn Neurosci 30:353-364 |
| Blumenfeld, Robert S; Lee, Taraz G; D'Esposito, Mark (2014) The effects of lateral prefrontal transcranial magnetic stimulation on item memory encoding. Neuropsychologia 53:197-202 |
| Blumenfeld, Robert S; Bliss, Daniel P; Perez, Fernando et al. (2014) CoCoTools: open-source software for building connectomes using the CoCoMac anatomical database. J Cogn Neurosci 26:722-45 |
| Blumenfeld, Robert S; Nomura, Emi M; Gratton, Caterina et al. (2013) Lateral prefrontal cortex is organized into parallel dorsal and ventral streams along the rostro-caudal axis. Cereb Cortex 23:2457-66 |
