Empirical research has shown that the amygdala, hippocampus, and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) are involved in fear conditioning. However, the functional contribution of each brain area and the nature of their interactions are not clearly understood. Here, we extend existing neural network models of the functional roles of the hippocampus…

Why does the brain contain more than one memory system? Genetic algorithms can play a role in elucidating this question. Here, model animals were constructed containing a dorsal striatal layer that controlled actions, and a ventral striatal layer that controlled a dopaminergic learning signal. Both layers could gain access to three modeled memory…

Estrogen has been shown to have a strong modulatory influence on several types of cognition in both women and female rodents. Latent inhibition is a task in which pre-exposure to a neutral stimulus, such as a tone, later impedes the association of that stimulus with a particular consequence, such as a shock. Previous work from our lab demonstrates…