A long "cramming" session is a much less effective way of learning than are multiple training sessions separated by an hour or more (i.e., spaced trials). Does this basic characteristic of learning reflect limits imposed by an unrecognized feature of the brain mechanisms that encode memory? If so, is it possible to circumvent these limits so as to accelerate learning? The present work builds on recent discoveries from this investigator's laboratory to address these fundamental questions. Techniques targeted at different neurobehavioral levels will be used: i) electrical recordings from brain cells to analyze memory-related changes, ii) locally developed light microscopy techniques to measure chemical signaling at the junction between two brain cells (i.e., synapses), and iii) behavioral procedures for measuring learning by animals in naturalistic, complex environments. Previous work by this investigator showed that an unusual class of brain proteins called integrins regulates synapses in a memory-related brain region and that these proteins have novel properties that produce a phenomenon at the level of the synapse that resembles the spaced trials effect seen in learning studies. Because the time frame under study approximates that of a classroom session, these studies could add an entirely new dimension to brain-based strategies for improving education. They will also suggest pharmacological means for manipulating the timing rules that govern the formation of stable memories. Finally, the program will provide a unique opportunity for students (undergraduate through post-doctoral), several of whom are from minority groups, to work together on a problem that is critical to basic science and as well to society.
