The nucleus reuniens of the thalamus (RE) is a key component of an extensive network of hippocampal and cortical structures and is a fundamental substrate for cognition. A common misconception is that RE is a simple relay structure. Instead, a better conceptualization is that RE is a critical component of a canonical higher-order…

Spatial memory, the aspect of memory involving encoding and retrieval of information regarding one's environment and spatial orientation, is a complex biological function incorporating multiple neuronal networks. Hippocampus-dependent spatial memory is not innate and emerges during development in both humans and rodents. In children,…

This study, based on the observation of children (3-5 year olds) following a program of specific physical exercises guided by music, wants to evaluate the effect of movement on body, mind and cognition. It will promote activities and experience in order to 1) build up a healthy body and a healthy mind; 2) prevent obesity as well as type 2…

Glucocorticoid hormones, via activation of their receptors, promote memory consolidation, but the exact underlying mechanisms remain elusive. We examined how corticosterone regulates AMPA receptors (AMPARs), which are crucial for synaptic plasticity and memory formation. Combining a live imaging fluorescent recovery after photobleaching approach…

Phosphorylation is a ubiquitous post-translational modification of proteins, and a known physiological regulator of K[superscript +] channel function. Phosphorylation of K[superscript +] channels by kinases has long been presumed to regulate neuronal processing and behavior. Although circumstantial evidence has accumulated from behavioral studies…

Experience-induced replay of neuronal ensembles occurs during hippocampal high-frequency oscillations, or ripples. Post-learning increase in ripple rate is predictive of memory recall, while ripple disruption impairs learning. Ripples may thus present a fundamental component of a neurophysiological mechanism of memory consolidation. In addition to…

Ample evidence has demonstrated that sex steroid hormones, such as the potent estrogen 17ß-estradiol (E[subscript 2]), affect hippocampal morphology, plasticity, and memory in male and female rodents. Yet relatively few investigators who work with male subjects consider the effects of these hormones on learning and memory. This review describes…

The neural mechanisms underlying the attainment of fear memory accuracy for appropriate discriminative responses to aversive and nonaversive stimuli are unclear. Considerable evidence indicates that coactivator of transcription and histone acetyltransferase cAMP response element binding protein (CREB) binding protein (CBP) is critically required…

The synaptic Ras/Rap-GTPase-activating protein (SynGAP1) plays a unique role in regulating specific downstream intracellular events in response to N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) activation. Constitutive heterozygous loss of SynGAP1 disrupts NMDAR-mediated physiological and behavioral processes, but the disruptions might be of developmental…

We examined the organization and function of the ventral object processing pathway. The prevailing theoretical approach in this field holds that the ventral object processing stream has a modular organization, in which visual perception is carried out in posterior regions and visual memory is carried out, independently, in the anterior temporal…

Tactile memory systems are involved in the storage and retrieval of information about stimuli that impinge on the body surface and objects that people explore haptically. Here, the authors review the behavioral, neuropsychological, neurophysiological, and neuroimaging research on tactile memory. This body of research reveals that tactile memory…

A critical issue for Ericsson et al.'s proposal is the development of a fully adequate description of neurophysiological substrates for deliberate practice. Ericsson et al. do provide two substantial subsections on biological substrates--namely, their subsections, "Acquisition of superior power, control, and speed of motor activities" and…

A quantitative computational theory of the operation of the CA3 system as an attractor or autoassociation network is described. Based on the proposal that CA3-CA3 autoassociative networks are important for episodic or event memory in which space is a component (place in rodents and spatial view in primates), it has been shown behaviorally that the…

It is known from studies outside the brain that upon binding to its receptor, angiotensin-(1-7) elicits the release of prostanoids and nitric oxide (NO). Cyclooxygenase (COX) is a key enzyme that converts arachidonic acid to prostaglandins. Since there are no data available so far on the role of COX-2 in the amygdala, in a first step we…

Previous reports have shown that overexpression of the growth- and plasticity-associated protein GAP-43 improves memory. However, the relation between the levels of this protein to memory enhancement remains unknown. Here, we studied this issue in transgenic mice (G-Phos) overexpressing native, chick GAP-43. These G-Phos mice could be divided at…