LIMBIC CORTICAL BASES OF ASSOCIATIVE LEARNING

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This is an application for an NIMH Research Scientist Award to implement a combined experimental/theoretical study of the brain mechanisms underlying learning and memory. The specific goal is to develop a biologically based mathematical model and computer simulation of the functional properties of the hippocampus, a region of the brain which is essential for learning and memory. Three approaches will be used to reach this objective: i) a nonlinear systems analytic approach will be used to develop an input/output model of the hippocampus, ii) a field theory approach will be used to develop a detailed physiological and anatomical model of the hippocampus, and iii) technologies used in optical computing and VLSI design will be used for multiple site recording and hardware representations of models of the hippocampus. The resulting models will be used to interpret learning-related activity of hippocampal neurons recording from behaving animals during classical conditioning. On the basis of these analyses, it is hoped that a better understanding will emerge with respect to the relationships between network dynamics, synaptic plasticity, and information storage in the brain.