Research on memory and plasticity has focused on the hippocampus for some time. The cortical regions surrounding the hippocampus including the perirhinal, postrhinal, and entorhinal cortices have been appreciated primarily because they provide the major interface between cortical unimodal and polymodal sensory processing regions and the hippocampus. Whereas recent neuroanatomical findings have served to reinforce this view, the results of experimental lesion and electrophysiological studies now indicate that these regions may make unique contributions to memory, in addition to their connectional contributions to hippocampal functions. The rat and the monkey have traditionally provided the primary animal models for memory research, but mice are becoming more widely used, especially since the development of technologies for manipulating the mouse genome. Unfortunately, most of the neuroanatomy and much of the behavior providing the background for neuroscience approaches to memory research using mouse models are based on assumptions drawn from what is known about the rat. In particular, the organization of mouse hippocampal circuitry is largely assumed from findings in the rat. Additionally, spatial tasks commonly used in mice are drawn from a battery of spatial tasks at which rats are known to perform well. Yet, direct behavioral comparisons between laboratory rats and laboratory mice on similar tests of spatial processing ability indicate that there often substantial cross-species differences in performance measures. Available evidence suggests that mice may not perform spatial tasks as well as rats do, and that the discrepancy reflects differences in hippocampal processing of spatial or contextual information. If mice and rats process sensory information for its spatial content differently, this should be evident in the organization of the structures corticohippocampal systems in the two species. The guiding hypothesis of the proposed studies is that mice differ from rats in the processing of spatial information and that the differences are reflected in the functional architecture of corticohippocampal systems. Accordingly, a major objective of the proposed studies is to examine hypotheses about basic connectional principles of the mouse corticocortical and corticohippocampal circuitry. Neuroanatomical studies will be conducted using a mouse strain chosen to provide the best comparison with research conducted in the rat and to complement other ongoing research in the mouse. These experiments will include cytoarchitectonic, histochemical, and tract tracing studies of the hippocampal formation and the cortical regions that surround the hippocampus. Another major aim of the proposed studies is to use neuropsychological approaches within a comparative framework to investigate the function of specific target structures.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
3R01MH060284-03S1
Application #
6697930
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1)
Project Start
2000-05-01
Project End
2005-04-30
Budget Start
2002-05-01
Budget End
2003-04-30
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
2003
Total Cost
$14,733
Indirect Cost
Name
Brown University
Department
Psychology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
001785542
City
Providence
State
RI
Country
United States
Zip Code
02912
Beaudin, Stephane A; Singh, Teghpal; Agster, Kara L et al. (2013) Borders and comparative cytoarchitecture of the perirhinal and postrhinal cortices in an F1 hybrid mouse. Cereb Cortex 23:460-76
Casten, Kimberly S; Gray, Annette C; Burwell, Rebecca D (2011) Discrimination learning and attentional set formation in a mouse model of Fragile X. Behav Neurosci 125:473-9
Furtak, Sharon C; Cho, Christine E; Kerr, Kristin M et al. (2009) The Floor Projection Maze: A novel behavioral apparatus for presenting visual stimuli to rats. J Neurosci Methods 181:82-8
Theroux, Steven; Pereira, Mandy; Casten, Kimberly S et al. (2007) Raf kinase inhibitory protein knockout mice: expression in the brain and olfaction deficit. Brain Res Bull 71:559-67
Long, Michael A; Jutras, Michael J; Connors, Barry W et al. (2005) Electrical synapses coordinate activity in the suprachiasmatic nucleus. Nat Neurosci 8:61-6