Investigations of the role of the dopaminergic and noradrenergic systems in memory encoding through hippocampal synaptic pasticity

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Denise Manahan-Vaughan
• Subject Area: Cognitive, Systems and Behavioural Neurobiology
• Term: from 2008 to 2015
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 60290524

The primary objective of this project is to determine how hippocampal synaptic plasticity encodes spatial memory, and in particular how neuromodulatory systems enable the hippocampus to distinguish salient from irrelevant information. Synaptic plasticity, is likely to comprise the mechanism through which information is encoded in the mammalian brain. The hippocampus acquires new spatial information through the processing of a huge amount of information that is sent to the hippocampus from other brain structures including the sensory cortices and cognitive structures. New memories traces are encoded as this information is processed. Our interest is to examine how, given the vast amount of information that is constantly shunted through the hippocampus at any given moment, the hippocampus distinguishes salient from irrelevant information? Two neuromodulatory systems may be particularly significant in enabling this kind of information filtering: the Locus Coeruleus, where noradrenergic nuclei are located, responds exclusively to novel experience. The dopaminergic system, and particularly the ventral tegmental area, where dopaminergic nuclei are located, is particularly active under conditions involving reward and motivation. Both systems project intensively to the hippocampus. This study will examine how the noradrenergic and dopaminergic systems contribute to salient information storage in the hippocampus through synaptic plasticity.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants