Vertebrate Physiology » Memory

Memories are made of this

moon — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 02:21:49 +0000

Some of you have mastered the art of cramming for exams. But what really happens when we store a thought for a very short period of time? What are memories made of? We’ve come a long way in our understanding since Dean Martin’s 1955 hit song. After looking at single neurons in the prefrontal cortex of mice, researchers at UT Southwestern have identified a specific receptor that drives short-term memory storage. Even more interestingly, they used dopamine and cocaine to simulate the effects of addiction on momentary recall. Curious about what happened? This article gives a great summary of their recently published findings in Nature Neuroscience.

Speaking of memory…do you remember our lecture on the hippocampus? Another study at the University of California looked at long-term recall and the involvement of specific brain structures. In light of what we learned in class, try to reason through their results.

One powerful aspect of neurobiology is the wide range of approaches we can use to answer key questions. Both of these research teams wondered “how do we store memories?” While the first study chose to look at single cells, the latter looked at whole brains. Integrating both micro and macro results gives us a more accurate depiction of how our brains are processing information.

This is yet another great piece on the topic of memory. A group of German researchers noticed that particular patterns of brain waves predict which memories you will remember, and which you will forget.

The science of road kill…. err… sleeping

moon — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 17:16:56 +0000

CBS is not typically a good source for science articles, but this is a very nice read on the science of sleep. They mention some of the aspects that we talked about in class- the need for sleep, how it affects learning and memory, and perhaps most importantly, the link between sleep and attention. People getting the shortened sleeps that the average college student experiences would drift into microsleeps (a few seconds)– enough to drive off a road. Something to think about when driving home after a week of studying for finals.

The case of AJ

moon — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 18:24:52 +0000

Here is a short NPR broadcast in which AJ describes her experiences with her near “perfect” memory. She can remember near everything that has happened to her, but has a poor capacity to remember facts and even historical events. A key component to her memory is the emotional content in her memories, and recall of those memories.
In the meantime, here is a link to a National Geographic blurb on memory that is good reading.

Stress test.

moon — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 18:46:50 +0000

This image is part of a stress test. For some individuals, these two dolphins may appear slightly different. This is an indicator of stress. The brains of individuals undergoing stress often have enhanced activity wherein they notice finer details. Final exams are one progenitor of stress.
It has long been observed that moderately stressful situations can lead to enhanced memory entrainment, but just how that works has yet to be elucidated. Recent work has shown that norepinephrine can have direct molecular effects at the synapse level. Effects that seem to enhance the receptors suspected in the formation of memories. The observation is that sympathetic release of hormone/neurotransmiter norepinephrine can lead to the alteration of GluR1 channels by phosphorylation.
Conversely, alcohol can have the opposite effects. P-rats. specifically bred to prefer alcohol, demonstrate gross learning deficits after a round of ‘binge-drinking’.
So, freak-out before the finals, party afterwards.

Savants and Autism

moon — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 10:11:52 +0000

There is a consistent link between the occurrence of austism and special mental capabilities such a remarkable facility with numbers or artistic talent. There are two parts to this broadcast, the first is linked here:

Memory, and uhh… other stuff.

moon — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 11:34:53 +0000

“Memory is the thing you forget with.” ~ Alexander Chase,Perspectives

“Nothing fixes a thing so intensely in the memory as the wish to forget it.” ~ Michel de Montaigne

One of the major mysteries of the brain is how memories are formed– or more particularly, what form memories take in the brain. This is another Radiolab podcast that investigates the nature of memory. This is also done in light of drugs that affect the assimilation of memories. The impetus for this is the possibility of ‘erasing’ memories in cases of post-traumatic stress syndrome.
Some of the early studies on learning and memory utilised the sea slug, Aplysia, to discover what happens at the neural circuit level during the process of learning a novel experience. This site is a very good primer on conditional learning.
Another broad spectrum overview is this treatise on neurobiology which includes information of the cerebellum.

Sleep, perchance to dream

moon — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 18:35:36 +0000

Sleep is something that we take for granted, and all too often assume that we will find enough time to get the sleep that we need.
This is a WNYC Radio Lab podcast that talks about many aspects of sleep. With studies of sleep involving a diverse array of animals from little girls and cats to iguanas and dolphins, this program discusses half-brain sleep behaviour, night terrors, and parasomnias.

One of the primary themes is how fear (notions of menace and predation) may be a major factor in the sleep process. Fear is a factor in other aspects of behaviour, that we will look at when we discuss the amygdala.
There is also a segment on dreams and how they represent and affect our conscious state. One story describes how rats “replay” their experiences in a maze from earlier in the day while sleeping. This may indicate how sleep can effect memory.

Radiolab is a great series of science-oriented programs that are easy to listen to, but still very interesting in a Discovery Channel style.