|
|
|
 |
Neurobiology of learning and memoryBroadly defined. the primary focus of our work is to explore the ways in which information is acquired and stored in the mammalian brain. Most of these studies involve an examination of the neural substrates of olfactory (odor) memory in the rat. Briefly. we focus mainly on olfactory memory for two reasons. First. rats exhibit a remarkable facility in learning when trained in tasks which use odors as stimuli. Second. the brain areas participating in the detection and analysis of odors are intimately and reciprocally connected with several brain areas known to play a prominent role in learning. including the amygdala. the hippocampus. and the rhinal cortical areas (perirhinal and entorhinal cortex). These studies span several levels of neurobiological analysis. We are currently examining the participation of various brain regions in olfactory memory through neuropsychological (lesion) studies. electrophysiological studies examining the response properties of neurons in the amygdala. hippocampus. and rhinal cortical areas in awake. behaving rats during learning. and immunohistochemical studies examining the extent to which learning results in an activation of specific genes within brain cells. We are also beginning a series of studies examining the extent to which. following experimentally-induced damage. regeneration of olfactory receptor neurons and the subsequent reinnervation of the olfactory bulb is related to a recovery of function. and whether this regeneration and recovery of function can be pharmacologically enhanced. These studies have been supported by grants IBN9514526 and IBN9817145 from the National Science Foundation. a Discovery Award from Johnson & Johnson Inc.. and the Busch Grant Program at Rutgers University. Selected PublicationsOtto T. Poon P. (2006) Dorsal hippocampal contributions to unimodal contextual conditioning. J Neurosci. 26(24):6603-9. Nicot. A.. Otto. T.. Brabet. P.. and DiCicco-Bloom. E.M. (2004) Altered social behavior in pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide Type-I receptor-deficient mice. J. Neurosci. 24:8786-8795. Cousens. G.. and Otto. T. (2003) Contributions of orbitofrontal cortex and basolateral amygdaloid complex to olfactory discrimination learning with auditory secondary reinforcement. Integrative Physiol. Behav. Sci. 38:272-294. Herzog. C.D.. & Otto. T. (2002). Administration of transforming growth factor alpha enhances anatomical and behavioral recovery following olfactory nerve transection. Neuroscience 113:569-580. Abstract Schettino. L.F. . & Otto. T. (2001). Patterns of Fos expression in the amygdala and ventral perirhinal cortex induced by training in an olfactory fear conditioning paradigm. Behavioral Neuroscience 115(6):1257-1272. Abstract Otto. T.. & Giardino. N. (2001). Pavlovian conditioning of emotional responses to olfactory and contextual stimuli: A potential model for the development and expression of chemical intolerance. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 933:291-309. Abstract |
|
