Brain mechanism for memory formation of emotional experience

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26350988
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Basic / Social brain science
• Research Institution: Yamaguchi University
• Principal Investigator: ISHIKAWA Junko 山口大学, 医学(系)研究科(研究院), 助教 (30570808)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 情動 / 記憶形成

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Emotional experiences are strongly retained in the memory. To elucidate this brain mechanism, neural activity before, during, and after emotional experiences was recorded. Hippocampal CA1 neurons of male rats exhibited spontaneous high frequency firing (super burst) during and soon after emotional experiences. Then, the number of ripple-like event and frequency of silent period in CA1 neurons was increased minutes after experiences. There were neurons in basolateral amygdala that excited correlated to emotional experiences, which might be influence on formation of super burst and ripple like event in CA1. Ripple-like events in CA1 and medial prefrontal cortex were synchronized after emotional experiences, which might be associated with memory consolidation. These observations would be involved in memory formation of emotional experiences.

Free Research Field

神経生理