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Lost Connections Amid the Hippocampus: Amnesiac Study Offers Insights into How Working Memory Works
June 01, 2006PHILADELPHIA — Memory tests performed with amnesiacs have enabled researchers to refute a long-held belief in an essential difference between long-and short-term memories. In the study, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania determined that the hippocampus — a seahorse shaped structure in the middle of the brain — was just as important for retrieving certain types of short-term memories as it is for long-term memories.
Their findings, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, overturn the established view of the hippocampus and offers insight on how the brain forms and recalls memories by piecing together related bits of experiences.
"For over 40 years, the chief paradigm has been that the hippocampus was important for creating long-term memory but not short-term or working memory," said Ingrid Olson, a member of Penn's Department of Psychology and researcher at Penn's Center for Cognitive Neuroscience. "However, our data show that one type of working memory, working memory for the relationship between bits of information, is dependent on the hippocampus.
According to Olson, how much time has elapsed or, in other words, the age of the memory — is less important to the hippocampus than is the requirement to form connections between pieces of information to create a coherent episode of memory.
"I can remember what my keys look like, and I can remember where the coffee table is located, but the critical test of my memory is if I can remember that I left my keys on the coffee table," Olson said.
To study the role of the hippocampus in forming short-term memories, Olson and her colleagues used visual memory tests to study the ability of nine amnesiacs to recall images presented to them on a screen. These subjects all suffered from damage to their hippocampi and related brain structures, and their lives are ruled by the fact that they can no longer form long-term memories, much like characters from the movies "Memento" or "Finding Nemo."
The task required amnesiacs and controls to remember three objects, locations or objects in locations over delays of one or eight seconds. The results show that working memory for objects or locations alone was at normal levels, but that memory for object-location conjunctions was severely impaired at eight-second delays.
"While 'long-term' memory and 'short-term' memory have been useful distinctions for us, they may not exist in the same way for the brain," Olson said.
The researchers believe that a more useful distinction would be between feature memory and conjunction memory the ability to remember specific things versus how they are related. In that regard, the hippocampus serves like the brain's switchboard, piecing individual bits of information together in context.
"The hippocampus is another part of our evolving view of the nature of memories and consciousness," Olson said. "Our memories are not the static, permanent things we would like to think and, even in healthy people, these connections can erode or become muddled, leading to false memories or illnesses like post-traumatic stress disorder.\\\
University of Pennsylvania
According to Olson, how much time has elapsed or, in other words, the age of the memory — is less important to the hippocampus than is the requirement to form connections between pieces of information to create a coherent episode of memory.
"I can remember what my keys look like, and I can remember where the coffee table is located, but the critical test of my memory is if I can remember that I left my keys on the coffee table," Olson said.
To study the role of the hippocampus in forming short-term memories, Olson and her colleagues used visual memory tests to study the ability of nine amnesiacs to recall images presented to them on a screen. These subjects all suffered from damage to their hippocampi and related brain structures, and their lives are ruled by the fact that they can no longer form long-term memories, much like characters from the movies "Memento" or "Finding Nemo."
The task required amnesiacs and controls to remember three objects, locations or objects in locations over delays of one or eight seconds. The results show that working memory for objects or locations alone was at normal levels, but that memory for object-location conjunctions was severely impaired at eight-second delays.
"While 'long-term' memory and 'short-term' memory have been useful distinctions for us, they may not exist in the same way for the brain," Olson said.
The researchers believe that a more useful distinction would be between feature memory and conjunction memory the ability to remember specific things versus how they are related. In that regard, the hippocampus serves like the brain's switchboard, piecing individual bits of information together in context.
"The hippocampus is another part of our evolving view of the nature of memories and consciousness," Olson said. "Our memories are not the static, permanent things we would like to think and, even in healthy people, these connections can erode or become muddled, leading to false memories or illnesses like post-traumatic stress disorder.\\\
University of Pennsylvania
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The Hippocampus Book (Oxford Neuroscience Series) by Per Andersen (Editor), Richard Morris (Editor), David Amaral (Editor), Tim Bliss (Editor), John O'Keefe (Editor) The hippocampus is one of a group of remarkable structures embedded within the brain's medial temporal lobe. Long known to be important for memory, it has been a prime focus of neuroscience research for many years. The Hippocampus Book promises to facilitate developments in the field in a major way by bringing together, for the first time, contributions by leading international scientists knowledgeable about hippocampal anatomy, physiology, and function. This authoritative volume offers the most comprehensive, up-to-date account of what the hippocampus does, how it does it, and what happens when things go wrong. At the same time, it illustrates how research focusing on this single brain structure has revealed principles of wider generality for the whole brain in relation to anatomical... |
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Hippocampus Erectus - The Seahorse 12x18 Giclee on canvas - Photos - 19721-8 by Buyenlarge Series: Classic Photography Artist: Unknown Period: Source country: USA Source Year: 12 inch by 18 inch Giclee print on Canvas. All files are stored digitally and are ready for reproduction. The quality is closely monitored to ensure professional results. This item is custom made per order. |
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Neuronal Networks of the Hippocampus by Roger D. Traub (Author), Richard Miles (Author) The questions of how a large population of neurons in the brain functions, how synchronized firing of neurons is achieved, and what factors regulate how many and which neurons fire under different conditions form the central theme of this book. Using a combined experimental-theoretical approach unique in neuroscience, the authors present important new techniques for the physiological reconstruction of a large biological neuronal network. They begin by discussing experimental studies of the CA3 hippocampal region in vitro, focusing on single-cell and synaptic electrophysiology, particularly the effects a single neuron exerts on its neighbors. This is followed by a description of a computer model of the system, first for individual cells then for the entire detailed network, and the model... | |
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T-shirt with water, seahorse, longsnout, hippocampus by SHOPZEUS Our standard t-shirts are made of 100% cotton and preshrunk (ultra cotton heavyweight). We typically use Gildan Activewear but at times may substitute with other brand name t-shirts. We carry thousands of t-shirts with sayings. To view additional t-shirts please visit our storefront on Amazon (Shopzeus.com) and search for t-shirt. |
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Hippocampus (Potency: 7C) by Quinn Hippocampus is a homeopathic remedy available as medicated sugar pellets in C potencies and as a liquid in 2 dram (1/4 oz), 1oz, and 4 oz sizes. Potencies of 30C and above are also available in ½ dram vials for those who need only 1 to 10 doses. We recommend using potencies from 6C to 30C for use in self diagnosis and prescribing. Hippocampus can be used to treat a wide range of diseases, all of which have a unique general pattern of effects upon an individual. Homeopathic medicine seeks to treat the whole person and not just a symptom or two because we are whole beings and not collections of unrelated symptoms. |
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