Nature: New research "sniffs out" how associative memory is formed

September 22, 2021-Does the aroma of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies remind you of the afternoon at your grandmother's house? Is there any old song that evokes the memories of the first date? Remember that it is irrelevant The ability to relate things (scents and places, songs and events) is called associative memory

Psychologists have been studying associative memory since the 19th century.

Neuroscientists at the University of California, Irvine discovered that there are certain types of neurons in the brain's memory center that are responsible for acquiring new associative memories

"Although associative memory is the most basic form of memory in our daily lives, the mechanism of associative memory is still unclear," said Kei Igarashi, assistant professor of neurobiology and anatomy and neurobiology at UCI School of Medicine

This study, published today in the journal Nature, reports for the first time that specific cells in the medial lateral endoscopic cortex of the temporal lobe, called sector cells, are necessary for new associative memory.

In this study, the researchers used electrophysiological recording and optogenetics to record and control the activity of mouse fan cells because they learned to associate specific odors with rewards

"We never thought that dopamine would participate in the memory circuit

This discovery is an important part of understanding the puzzle of how memory is formed in the brain, and laid the foundation for other researchers to continue research

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The research team also includes Jason Y.

This work was supported by the National Institute of Health (Award Number R01MH121736, R01AG063864 R01AG066806), and in a blink of an eye the funding came from the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JPMJPR1681), the Brain Research Foundation Fay-Frank Seed Grant (brfsg-2017-04), white Basic Research Funding (2017-08-01), BrightFocus Foundation Research Fund (A2019380S), Alzheimer's Association Research Fund (AARG-17-532932), and New Horizons Research Investigator Award (CCAD201902) awarded to Kei Igarashi

The Neurobiology Center for Learning and Memory: Founded in 1983 by the Regent of the University of California, with James L.

About the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology The Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology at the University of California Irvine School of Medicine was established in 1968.

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Magazine

nature

Article title

Dopamine promotes associative memory coding in the entorhinal cortex

Article publication date

22-9-2021