Upcoming Snowbird Symposium Fall 2009

"The hippocampus, memory and plasticity"

November 6-7, 2009
Snowbird Ski & Summer Resort

PRELIMINARY PROGRAM
FRIDAY:
9:00AM-12:00PM SCIENTIFIC SESSION I (Cliff Lodge Ballroom)
12:00-2:00PM Lunch
2:00-5:00PM SCIENTIFIC SESSION II (Cliff Lodge Ballroom)
5:00-5:30PM SfN Intermountain Chapter meeting
5:30-6:30PM Mixer, Cliff Lodge
6:30-8:00PM Dinner, Cliff Lodge
8:00-9:00PM Keynote Speaker
9:30-11:00PM Mixer, Cliff Lodge

GUEST SPEAKERS:

KEYNOTE SPEAKER:

Howard Eichenbaum, Ph.D.
Professor and Chairman, Department of Psychology
Boston University

Title: "Towards a functional organization of the hippocampal memory system"

Summary: This presentation will focus on a rodent model of episodic memory used to characterize the information processing features of the hippocampus and related cortical areas involved in this kind of memory. Our studies examine the distinction between recollection and familiarity, the integration of "what", "where", and "when", features of memory for unique experiences, and the linking of memories into networks of knowledge.

Charan Ranganath, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Psychology
University of California, Davis

Title: "Binding Items and Contexts: How the brain builds episodic memories"

Summary: In order to remember a past event, the brain must be able to create a unique memory that binds information about the specific elements of the event, and the context in which the event occurred. My talk will focus on the progress that has been made in understanding how the brain accomplishes this feat. I will first discuss evidence from imaging studies of humans and lesion studies of rodents suggesting that regions in the medial temporal lobes form representations that support the binding of item and context information. Next, I will discuss the role of the prefrontal cortex in supporting working memory processes that promote successful long-term memory binding, and particularly the ability to remember associations between items. The findings suggest a framework for understanding the roles of medial temporal and prefrontal regions in the formation and retrieval of episodic memories.

Scott C. Steffensen, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Center
Brigham Young University

Title: "Subcortical modulation of hippocampal physiology"

Summary: Information processing through the neocortex-hippocampus-neocortex loop is modulated by subcortical inputs, in particular the septohippocampal cholinergic pathway. However, a number of other subcortical inputs also exert considerable influence on hippocampal physiology. For example, dopamine neurons originating in the midbrain ventral tegmental area (VTA) project to the lateral septum and to the hippocampus. Stimulation of the VTA evokes a field potential centered in the hilar region of the dentate and facilitates dentate, but not CA1, population spikes, but not EPSPs, suggesting that VTA dopaminergic input inhibits GABA inhibition of dentate granule cells. Moreover, stimulation of hippocampal efferents activates GABA neurons in the VTA. Taken together, these physiological findings support the theoretical model proposed by Lisman et al (2005) that the hippocampal-VTA loop regulates the entry of information into long-term memory.

Ray Kesner, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Psychology
University of Utah

Title: "Different functions for different subregions of the hippocampus: A process and pathway analysis"

Summary: In this talk I will present data to support the idea that different subregions (DG, CA3, and CA1) of the hippocampus contribute differentially to the processing of especially spatial and temporal information. In addition, based on input and output analyses to the different subregions, it appears that each subregion has its own intrinsic processing mechanisms and further support parallel processing of information among the different subregions of the hippocampus.

Derek Buhl, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow, Susumu Tonegawa lab; Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Title: "Hippocampal CA3 output is crucial for ripple-associated reactivation and consolidation of memory"

Summary: Numerous studies have indicated the hippocampal formation to be necessary for long-term consolidation of memories to the neocortex; however, the precise mechanisms underlying this function within the hippocampus remains to be elucidated. Reactivation of past experiences during CA1 fast-field "ripple" oscillations, which are thought, at least in part, to be elicited via CA3 Schaffer collateral discharge, has been proposed to play a significant role in this process. Here, we used genetic tools to precisely inhibit communication between CA3 and CA1 in a temporal and inducible manner during behavioral memory consolidation and during exposure to novel and familiar environments coupled with in vivo electrophysiology. Collectively, our data indicate that the post-training integrity of the trisynaptic pathway and the ripple-associated reactivation of the hippocampal memory engram is crucial for memory consolidation.

Graduate student speakers:

Elissa Pastuzyn; Neuroscience Program; Keefe lab; "Effect of methamphetamine neurotoxicity on a striatally-mediated reversal learning task"
Christina Rossi; Neuroscience Program; Kesner lab; "Behavioral and electrophysiological implications of selective interneuron ablation in the hippocampus"
Shushruth; Neuroscience Program; Angelucci lab; "Feedback inputs underlie some basic contextual computations in the primary visual cortex"
Jay Vargas; Pharmacology & Toxicology Department, ADD Program; Wilcox lab; "Altered protein expression in astrocytes in an animal model of epilepsy"

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