The hippocampus plays a critical role in the organization of memories. Previous studies on the nature of neural representations in the hippocampus have focused on spatial representations by hippocampal neurons, but many studies in humans and animals indicate a broader role for the hippocampus in memory organization. Representational Similarity Analysis, which has been very successful in revealing the organization of neural representations in other domains, will be employed to explore how hippocampal networks organize memories that are distinguished by temporal context and by specific salient cues and rules; and how multiple memory representations are integrated and stabilized over time. These experiments employ a combination of multi- electrode recording in rats, state-of-the-art calcium imaging in behaving mice, and novel neural population analyses, to generate a new understanding of neural network representations. These studies are of high translational potential because cognition dependent on memory organization is impaired in mental disorders including schizophrenia.

Public Health Relevance

The experiments described in this proposal will provide major new insights into how memories are organized by neural networks in the hippocampus in rodents performing memory tasks that model human declarative memory. These studies are of high translational potential because memory dependent on these networks is compromised in mental disorders, and understanding the basic mechanisms of neural networks provides a platform for testing possible therapies.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01MH052090-25
Application #
9968442
Study Section
Neurobiology of Learning and Memory Study Section (LAM)
Program Officer
Buhring, Bettina D
Project Start
1994-09-01
Project End
2021-06-30
Budget Start
2020-07-01
Budget End
2021-06-30
Support Year
25
Fiscal Year
2020
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Boston University
Department
Psychology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
049435266
City
Boston
State
MA
Country
United States
Zip Code
02215
Eichenbaum, Howard (2018) Barlow versus Hebb: When is it time to abandon the notion of feature detectors and adopt the cell assembly as the unit of cognition? Neurosci Lett 680:88-93
Kredlow, M Alexandra; Eichenbaum, Howard; Otto, Michael W (2018) Memory creation and modification: Enhancing the treatment of psychological disorders. Am Psychol 73:269-285
Eichenbaum, Howard (2018) What Versus Where: Non-spatial Aspects of Memory Representation by the Hippocampus. Curr Top Behav Neurosci 37:101-117
Kinsky, Nathaniel R; Sullivan, David W; Mau, William et al. (2018) Hippocampal Place Fields Maintain a Coherent and Flexible Map across Long Timescales. Curr Biol 28:3578-3588.e6
Riceberg, Justin S; Shapiro, Matthew L (2017) Orbitofrontal Cortex Signals Expected Outcomes with Predictive Codes When Stable Contingencies Promote the Integration of Reward History. J Neurosci 37:2010-2021
Lisman, John; Buzsáki, György; Eichenbaum, Howard et al. (2017) Viewpoints: how the hippocampus contributes to memory, navigation and cognition. Nat Neurosci 20:1434-1447
Eichenbaum, Howard (2017) Memory: Organization and Control. Annu Rev Psychol 68:19-45
Eichenbaum, Howard (2017) On the Integration of Space, Time, and Memory. Neuron 95:1007-1018
Rangel, Lara M; Rueckemann, Jon W; Riviere, Pamela D et al. (2016) Rhythmic coordination of hippocampal neurons during associative memory processing. Elife 5:e09849
McKenzie, Sam; Keene, Christopher S; Farovik, Anja et al. (2016) Representation of memories in the cortical-hippocampal system: Results from the application of population similarity analyses. Neurobiol Learn Mem 134 Pt A:178-191

Showing the most recent 10 out of 44 publications