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SUMMARY:The Determination of Memory Course after Retrieval - Dr Kerrie Tho
 mas\, School of Biosciences\, Cardiff University\, Wales
DTSTART:20120518T153000Z
DTEND:20120518T170000Z
UID:TALK37237@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Louise White
DESCRIPTION:Memory liberates us from the present and plays a major role in
  guiding appropriate behavioural responses to the challenges posed by a co
 mplex and uncertain world. Research over many years has shown that\, at th
 e psychological level\, memories are flexible and can be moulded so that t
 hey are more or less able to control our behaviour. Our studies in rats of
  hippocampal-dependent contextual fear conditioning\, perhaps the simplest
  form of Pavlovian learning and memory\, have shown that brief reexposure 
 to the training context causes fear memory reconsolidation\, whereas prolo
 ng exposure induces memory extinction. The mechanisms that control whether
  memory will reconsolidate or extinguish are very poorly understood. Our c
 urrent work indicates that the activity of three plasticity-associated mol
 ecules in the hippocampus\, Zif268\, brain-derived neurotrophic factor and
  Arc\, determine whether reconsolidation or extinction prevails. In additi
 on\, the differential activities induced by brief versus prolonged context
  exposure describe a gate for post-retrieval memory processes. Characteris
 ing the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the reconsolidation a
 nd extinction of long-term memory\, and discerning the precise conditions 
 of recall that engage distinct cellular mechanisms has potential importanc
 e to the development of therapeutic strategies for memory disorders. 
LOCATION:Ground Floor Lecture Theatre\, Department of Experimental Psychol
 ogy
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