The goal of this proposal is to understand the neural mechanisms of social recognition and memory. This information will lead to a more thorough understanding of the brain, especially sensory processing by the olfactory and vomeronasal systems, higher-order perceptual and cognitive processes involved in pattern perception, recognition, similarity judgments, and the formation of multi-component representations. In addition, the research will provide a new, unique perspective on the functional neuroanatomy of memory by investigating the role of various brain loci in social memory. Understanding of the brain, and especially of social recognition and memory processes, is relevant to the understanding of many types of human disabilities due to stroke or head injury, and also to understanding the deficits caused by a variety of degenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease and Korsakoff's syndrome.
The specific aims of the study are to use the extensive knowledge obtained about social communication in hamsters as a model system to investigate the neural mechanisms of recognition of individuals, kin, sex, and reproductive state by odors. There are four specific goals. First, the role of the hippocampal system in discrimination and recognition of individuals will be investigated using lesions and histological methods to determine the brain areas involved and Fos histochemical methods to determine particular groups of cells that are activated during recognition and memory processes. Second, the role of the medial amygdala in sex and reproductive state recognition will be investigated using the same methods. Third, the roles of the hippocampal system (including entorhinal cortex, para-hippocampal area and peri-rhinal cortex) and of the pre-frontal agranular insular cortex in higher-order processes such as multi-component representations of individuals will be examined. Fourth, the functional neuroanatomy of kin recognition will be examined, particularly the similarities and differences between recognition of kin by familiarity and recognition of kin by phenotype matching. These experiments will provide new and unique knowledge about the neural basis of social recognition and social memory that should provide a compelling complement to what is known about other types of learning and memory. They will also provide a basis for finer-grained anatomical and neurophysiological investigations of these processes that are so crucial to the lives of animals and humans.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01MH058001-05
Application #
6528872
Study Section
Psychobiology, Behavior, and Neuroscience Review Committee (PBN)
Program Officer
Lyon, Reid G
Project Start
1998-08-01
Project End
2004-07-06
Budget Start
2002-08-01
Budget End
2004-07-06
Support Year
5
Fiscal Year
2002
Total Cost
$214,024
Indirect Cost
Name
Cornell University
Department
Psychology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
City
Ithaca
State
NY
Country
United States
Zip Code
14850
Delbarco-Trillo, Javier; Johnston, Robert E (2013) Interactions with heterospecific males do not affect how female Mesocricetus hamsters respond to conspecific males. Anim Behav 86:151-156
delBarco-Trillo, Javier; Johnston, Robert E (2012) Asymmetric learning to avoid heterospecific males in Mesocricetus hamsters. Zoology (Jena) 115:270-4
delBarco-Trillo, Javier; Johnston, Robert E (2010) Fluoxetine does not prevent interspecific mating between two hamster species. Physiol Behav 99:684-6
delBarco-Trillo, Javier; LaVenture, Alex B; Johnston, Robert E (2009) Male hamsters discriminate estrous state from vaginal secretions and individuals from flank marks. Behav Processes 82:18-24
delBarco-Trillo, Javier; Gulewicz, Kara; Johnston, Robert E (2009) Medial amygdala involvement in discrimination of same-species and closely-related-species male stimuli in estrous female Mesocricetus hamsters. Behav Neurosci 123:758-63
Johnston, Robert E; Peng, Andy (2008) Memory for individuals: hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) require contact to develop multicomponent representations (concepts) of others. J Comp Psychol 122:121-31
Bath, Kevin G; Johnston, Robert E (2007) Dominant-subordinate relationships in hamsters: sex differences in reactions to familiar opponents. Horm Behav 51:258-64
Lai, Wen-Sung; Ramiro, Leora-Leigh R; Yu, Helena A et al. (2005) Recognition of familiar individuals in golden hamsters: a new method and functional neuroanatomy. J Neurosci 25:11239-47
Mayeaux, Darryl J; Johnston, Robert E (2004) Discrimination of social odors and their locations: role of lateral entorhinal area. Physiol Behav 82:653-62
Lai, Wen-Sung; Chen, Aiyin; Johnston, Robert E (2004) Patterns of neural activation associated with exposure to odors from a familiar winner in male golden hamsters. Horm Behav 46:319-29

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