Raymond P. Kesner - Neuroscience Program

Professor Emeritus of Psychology

Brain and Behavior

B.S. 1962, Wayne State University; M.S. 1964, Ph.D. 1965, University of Illinois; Postdoctoral Fellow, 1965-1967, Center for Brain Research, University of Rochester

RESEARCH:

Neurobiological basis of learning and memory

Dr. Kesner is interested in the theoretical and applied aspects associated with the neurobiological basis of learning and memory in both animals and humans. In recent years he has concentrated on the development of animal models paralleling mnemonic symptomatology in brain damaged patients. He is also interested in determining the critical neural substrates for memory representations in both animals and humans.

Selected Publications:

Kesner, R.P. (2009) Tapestry of memory. Behavioral Neuroscience, 123:1-13.

Kesner, R.P. (2009) The posterior parietal cortex and long-term memory representation of spatial information. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 91:197-206.

Kesner, R.P., Hunsaker, M.R., and Warthen, M.W. (2008) The CA3 subregion of the hippocampus is critical for episodic memory processing by means of relational encoding in rats. Behavioral Neuroscience, 122:1217-1225.

Hunsaker, M.R., and Kesner, R.P. (2008) The attributes of episodic processing. In: E. Dere, A. Easton, J. P. Huston, and L. Nadel (Eds.), Handbook of behavioral neuroscience: Episodic memory research (pp. 57-79). The Netherlands: Elsevier.

Lee, I., Kesner, R.P., and Knierim, J. (2008) The roles of hippocampal subfields in processing spatial contexts of events: Neurophysiological and behavioral analyses. In: S.J.Y. Mizumori (Ed.), Hippocampal place fields: Relevance to learning and memory (pp. 82-106). New York: Oxford University Press.

Kesner, R. P. (2007) A behavioral analysis of dentate gyrus function. In: H. Scharfman (Ed.), The dentate gyrus: A comprehensive guide to structure, functional and clinical implications. Progress in Brain Research, Vol. 163 (pp. 567-576). The Netherlands: Elsevier.

Kesner, R. P. (2007) Neurobiological views of memory. In: R.P. Kesner & J.L. Martinez (Eds.), The neurobiology of learning and memory, 2nd Ed. (pp. 271-304). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.

Kesner, R.P. (2007) Behavioral functions of the CA3 subregion of the hippocampus. Learning & Memory, 14:771-781.

Rolls, E.T., and Kesner, R.P. (2006) A computational theory of hippocampal function, and empirical tests of the theory. Progress in Neurobiology, 79:1-48.

Kesner, R.P., and Hopkins, R.O. (2006) Mnemonic functions of the hippocampus: A comparison between animals and humans. Biological Psychology, 73:3-18.

Kesner, R.P., Lee, I., and Gilbert, P. (2004) A behavioral assessment of hippocampal function based on a subregional analysis. Reviews in Neurosciences, 15:333-351.

Lee, I., and Kesner, R.P. (2004) Encoding versus retrieval of spatial memory: Double dissociation between the dentate gyrus and the perforant path inputs into CA3 in the dorsal hippocampus. Hippocampus, 14:66-76.

Lee, I., and Kesner, R.P. (2004) Differential contributions of hippocampal subregions to memory acquisition and retrieval in contextual fear conditioning. Hippocampus, 14:301-310.

Kesner, R.P., Gilbert, P.E., and Lee, I. (2002) Subregional analysis of hippocampal function in the rat. In: Neuropsychology of Memory, L. R. Squire & D. L. Schacter (Eds.), 3rd Ed. Guilford Press, 395-411.

Lee, I., and Kesner, R.P. (2002) Differential contribution of NMDA receptors in hippocampal subregions to spatial working memory. Nature Neuroscience, 5:162-168.

Kesner, R.P., and Rolls, E.T. (2001) Role of long term synaptic modification in short term memory. Hippocampus, 11:240-250.

Kesner, R.P. (1998) Neurobiological views of memory. In: The Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, J. L. Martinez & R. P. Kesner (Eds.), Academic Press: San Diego, CA.

Kesner, R.P., and Filoteo, J.V. (1998) Nonprimate models of motor and cognitive functions associated with Huntington's disease. In: Memory in Neurodegenerative Disease: Biological, Cognitive and Clinical Perspectives, A.I. Troster (Ed.), Cambridge University Press.

Kesner, R.P. (1998) Neural mediation of memory for time: Role of the hippocampus and medial prefrontal cortex. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 5:585-596.

Kesner, R.P., and Ragozzino, M. (1997) Structure and dynamics of multiple memory systems in Alzheimer's disease. In: Pharmacological Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease: Molecular and Neurobiological Foundations, J. D. Brioni & M. W. Decker (Eds.), John Wiley & Sons: New York.

Kesner, R.P., Hopkins, R.O., and Chiba, A.A. (1992) Learning and memory in humans with an emphasis on the role of the hippocampus. Neuropsychology of Memory (2nd Ed.), L. Squire & N. Butters, (Eds.), The Guilford Press: New York, pp. 106-121.

Kesner, R.P., and Olton, D.S., eds. (1990) Neurobiology of Comparative Cognition Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

Kesner, R.P., and DiMattia, B.V. (1987) Neurobiology of an attribute model of memory. Progress in Psychobiology and Physiological Psychology. A. R. Morrison and A. N. Epstein eds., pp. 207-277.