Interaction of the Hippocampal Formation and Prefrontal Cortex in Learning and Memory

这是一项研究，旨在确定大脑的两个不同区域是否实际上相互作用，以帮助记忆的某些方面。这两个区域中的每一个都分别与记忆功能有关。在人体上进行的成像研究表明了这种可能性，但要想以任何程度的信心评估这一点，并有能力理解这种关系的性质，唯一的方法就是在动物模型中进行实验。在这种情况下，恒河猴是首选物种，它的大脑结构与人类非常相似。猴子将对大脑的这两个部分进行选择性损伤，一个在颞叶，另一个在额叶。对于每个结构，损伤将发生在大脑的一侧，而另一侧完好无损。然后，我们将“断开”剩下的两个结构，看看这是否会改变动物的学习和记忆方式。如果发生重大变化，我们将获得初步证据，以确定这两种不同的结构共同参与学习和记忆功能。这项研究可能对评估某些疾病状态下的记忆功能有重要意义，并最终可能对记忆康复努力产生影响。

RE: Lay abstract Proposal IBN-9982889This is a study to determine if two different regions of the brain, each of which have been separately implicated in memory function, actually work with each other to subserve certain aspects of memory. Work in humans from imaging studies suggest this possibility, but the only way to assess this with any degree of confidence, and to have the ability to understand the nature of the relationship, is to perform an experiment in an animal model. In this case, the rhesus monkey, which has a brain that is structured in a very similar manner to that of humans, is the species of choice. Monkeys will undergo selective damage to these two parts of the brain, one in the temporal lobe, and the other in the frontal lobe. For each structure, the damage will be made on one side of the brain, leaving the other side intact. We will then "disconnect" the two remaining structures to see if this produces a change in how the animals learn and remember. If a significant change occurs, we will have obtained initial evidence in determining that the two different structures participate together in learning and memory function. This study could have important implications in the assessment of memory function in certain disease states and could have eventual bearing on memory rehabilitation efforts.