Hippocampal mnemonic influences on visual cortical neurons.

描述(由申请人提供)：了解情景记忆的神经机制是记忆相关精神和神经疾病的基础，如创伤后应激障碍和阿尔茨海默病。虽然新大脑皮层和海马体对情节记忆很重要，但这些记忆的感觉内容是如何储存的还不清楚。根据目前的理论，感觉成分储存在新皮质中，而海马体的作用是将这些成分结合在一起。然而，没有证据表明存在这样的新皮质神经元，这些神经元参与处理感觉成分，但在功能上受到幽门螺杆菌的限制。我们的初步研究显示，自由移动的大鼠初级视觉皮质中的许多细胞在环境的特定位置发射，这一特性被认为是海马体及其周围皮质区域细胞所独有的。我们假设这些视觉皮质神经元参与处理空间记忆的视觉成分，并受到海马细胞的影响。利用四极管同时记录执行空间导航任务的大鼠的视觉皮质和海马神经元，这项提议将研究特定位置的视觉皮质神经元，并研究它们是否与空间学习或记忆有关，以及它们是否依赖于海马体。 公共卫生相关性：我们建议研究情节记忆的感觉成分是如何在大脑中存储和回忆过去经历和事件的记忆类型。该提案将促进我们对创伤后应激障碍患者的创伤记忆是如何恢复的，以及阿尔茨海默病患者的存储记忆是如何逐渐丧失的理解。它的结果可能会对更好地预防和干预记忆相关疾病的策略产生新的见解。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Understanding the neural mechanisms of episodic memory is fundamental to memory-related psychiatric and neurological disorders, such as post traumatic stress disorder and Alzheimer's disease. Although it is clear that the neocortex and hippocampus are important for episodic memories, how sensory contents of these memories are stored is unknown. According to current theories, sensory components are stored in the neocortex, whereas the role of hippocampus is to bind the components together. However, there is no evidence for the existence of such neocortical neurons that are involved in processing the sensory components but functionally bound by HP. Our preliminary studies revealed that many cells in the primary visual cortex of freely moving rats fired at specific places of an environment, a property thought to be unique to cells in the hippocampus and its surrounding cortical areas. We hypothesize that these visual cortical neurons are involved in processing the visual components of spatial memories and influenced by hippocampal cells. Using simultaneous tetrode recordings of visual cortical and hippocampal neurons in rats performing spatial navigation tasks, this proposal will investigate the place-specific visual cortical neurons and study whether they are related to spatial learning or memory and whether they depend on the hippocampus. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: We propose to study how sensory components of episodic memory, the type of memory for past experiences and events, are stored and recalled in the brain. The proposal will advance our understanding of how traumatic memories are retrieved in patients with post traumatic stress disorder and how stored memories are progressively lost in patients with Alzheimer's disease. Its outcomes could generate new insights into better prevention and intervention strategies of memory-related disorders.