SPATIAL MEMORY AND THE BRAIN UNDER DEMANDING CONDITIONS

描述(申请者摘要)：研究大脑和行为变化 与食物缓存中的记忆相关的鸟类可能会更好地揭示 记忆与海马区结构的关系。知道怎么做 环境压力影响了记忆的进化，可以帮助我们 了解人类记忆是如何进化的。此外，研究如何 影响海马区可塑性的环境因素也可能有助于我们 了解中风或中风引起的细胞死亡后大脑修复可能发生的情况 类似的脑损伤。本研究的具体目的是(1)分析研究的效果 不可预测食物对觅食山雀记忆和脑形态的影响 通过控制食物供应和(2)检查高能饮食的效果 通过比较长期冬季对记忆和脑形态的要求 产于高纬度(阿拉斯加)和低纬度(俄亥俄)的鸟类。比较缓存和 非缓存物种可以提供有关这种关系的更多信息 记忆、大脑和生态条件之间的关系。如果这样的条件具有 对记忆和海马体的重大影响，那么我们应该会看到 食物储藏物种，但不在非缓存物种中。另一方面，如果这样的话 生态条件直接影响所有鸟类的大脑，无论 用于缓存的内存，则缓存和非缓存物种都应显示 记忆和海马区形态的改变。

DESCRIPTION (Applicant's abstract): Studying brain and behavioral changes associated with memory in food-caching birds may shed more light on the relationship between memory and hippocampal formation. Knowing how environmental pressure has affected the evolution of memory can help us understand how human memory has been evolving. In addition, studying how environmental factors affect hippocampal plasticity may also help us to understand how brain repair may occur after cell death resulting from stroke or similar brain damage. Specific aims of my study are (1) to analyze the effect of unpredictable food on memory and brain morphology in food-caching chickadees by manipulating food supply and (2) to examine the effect of high energetic demands resulting from long winters on memory and brain morphology by comparing birds from high (Alaska) and low (Ohio) latitudes. Comparing caching and non-caching species could provide additional information on the relationship between memory, brain, and ecological conditions. If such conditions have a significant impact on memory and the hippocampus, then we should see changes in food-caching species but not in non-caching species. On the other hand, if such ecological conditions directly affect the brains of all birds irrespective of memory for caches, then both caching and non-caching species should show changes in memory and hippocampal morphology.