Exploration Related Synaptic Changes in Rat Dentate Gyrus

爱德华·格林博士正在研究大脑结构--海马体--的复杂电生理学，众所周知，海马体与学习和记忆有关。他的工作应该提供有关在探索行为期间在海马齿状回发生的信息处理的性质的重要信息。齿状回是海马体的一个特殊区域。此外，这项工作旨在评估与行为探索相关的海马体功能变化。这项拟议的研究将利用自由运动大鼠齿状回颗粒细胞的场电位和单个单位反应的电生理记录。这项工作的具体目标包括：a)评估与行为状态相关的突触传递的暂时性变化与与探索性行为相关的突触效能的适度持续性变化之间的相互作用；B)评估肾上腺激素在伴随探索行为的齿状回中自然发生的突触效能变化中的作用；c)确定蓝斑是否对于产生颗粒细胞兴奋性的环境调节改变是必要的；D)评估自然发生的突触效能变化和电诱导的长时程增强是否具有共同的突触机制；以及e)比较在家庭环境中特定行为期间的颗粒细胞单位活动与探索后相同行为期间的单位活动。这些研究的结果将为我们提供关于大脑特定区域如何处理信息并保留信息以存储记忆的详细信息。

Dr. Edward Green is studying the intricate electrophysiology of a brain structure, the hippocampus, which is known to be involved in learning and memory. His work should provide important information regarding the nature of the information processing which takes place in the dentate gyrus, a special region of the hippocampus, during exploratory behavior. Furthermore, this work is designed to evaluate functional alterations in the hippocampus associated with behavioral exploration. The proposed studies will utilize electrophysiological recordings of field potentials and single unit responses of granule cells in the dentate gyrus of freely moving rats. The specific goals of the work include: a) an evaluation of the interaction between the transient alterations in synaptic transmission related to behavioral state, and moderately persistent changes in synaptic efficacy that are associated with exploratory behavior; b) an assessment of the role of adrenal hormones in naturally occurring, synaptic efficacy changes in the dentate gyrus that accompany exploratory behavior; c) a determination of whether the locus coeruleus is necessary for producing environmentally-modulated alterations in granule cell excitability; d) an evaluation of whether naturally- occurring alterations in synaptic efficacy and electrically - induced long-term potentiation share a common synaptic mechanism; and e) a comparison of granule cell unit activity during specific behaviors in the home environment to unit activity during the same behaviors following exploration. Findings from these studies will provide us with detailed information about how a specific area of the brain processes information and retains that information for the purpose of memory storage.