Memory for Objects and Contexts Following Manipulation of Hippocampal Formation or Perirhinal Cortex Functions

海马结构或嗅周皮层功能操纵后的物体和环境记忆

• 批准号: 156937-2012
• 负责人: Mumby, David
• 金额: $ 2.26万
• 依托单位: Concordia University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2013-01-01 至 2014-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=522705
• 关键词: Memory; Objects; Contexts; Following; Manipulation

There will be two primary objectives: 1) To develop a new and improved methodology for testing object-recognition memory in rats, and to use it to clarify the effects of lesions of the hippocampal formation (HPC) and perirhinal cortex (PRh) on this ability. 2) To enhance the experience and training of students and other HQP through the support of collaborative projects with other laboratories. Much of our previous research employed a novelty-preference paradigm, which we used to assess object-recognition memory, as well as adaptations that we used to assess place-memory and context-memory. The novelty-preference paradigm has become popular among scientists as a method of testing memory, but certain observations in our studies have given rise to serious doubts about its internal validity as a memory test. There has been ongoing debate for many years concerning the extent to which the HPC and PRh are critically involved in the processes that underlie object-recognition memory. I believe the lack of clarity in the literature stems from inherent limitations of the novel-object preference test that was used in most of the relevant studies, and there is a great need for new procedures that can be used to reliably and accurately measure memory abilities in laboratory rats. During the past several months, my students and I have been working to establish a new protocol for assessing object-recognition in rats that will circumvent some of the interpretational limitations of the novelty-preference paradigm. We have discovered a few surprising pitfalls, but we have also had some success, and we are now confident that we have a reliable protocol that provides a good index of object-recognition memory in a relatively short period of time. We plan to amass normative data while manipulating key task parameters (the number of objects that must be remembered; duration of the retention interval) in order to determine the reliability and precision of our new methods. We will study the effects of surgical lesions involving the HPC and PRh on performance of our new object-recognition task.

将有两个主要目标：1)开发一种新的和改进的方法来测试大鼠的对象识别记忆，并用它来阐明海马结构(HPC)和大脑周围皮质(PRH)损伤对这一能力的影响。2)通过与其他实验室合作项目的支持，加强学生和其他HQP的经验和培训。我们之前的许多研究都采用了新奇偏好范式，我们用这种范式来评估物体识别记忆，以及我们用来评估地点记忆和背景记忆的适应性。新颖性偏好范式作为一种测试记忆的方法在科学家中很受欢迎，但我们研究中的某些观察结果引发了人们对其作为记忆测试的内部有效性的严重质疑。关于HPC和PRH在多大程度上关键地参与了构成物体识别记忆的过程，多年来一直存在争论。我认为，文献中缺乏清晰度的原因是大多数相关研究中使用的新对象偏好测试的固有局限性，并且非常需要能够用于可靠和准确地测量实验室大鼠记忆能力的新程序。在过去的几个月里，我和我的学生们一直在努力建立一种新的方案来评估大鼠的物体识别能力，该方案将绕过新奇偏好范式的一些解释限制。我们发现了一些令人惊讶的陷阱，但我们也取得了一些成功，我们现在相信，我们有一个可靠的协议，可以在相对较短的时间内提供良好的物体识别记忆索引。我们计划在处理关键任务参数(必须记住的对象数量；保留间隔的持续时间)的同时收集标准数据，以确定我们新方法的可靠性和精确度。我们将研究涉及HPC和PRH的外科损伤对我们新的对象识别任务的影响。