N156: Molecular Mechanisms of Memory is taught Spring Quarter by Professor John F. Guzowski.
Dr. John F. Guzowski
Prerequisite: BIO SCI 99
Course Objective:
Memory is central to our identity as an individual and gives our lives meaning. It is also arguably the most complicated biological process in animals. This course will initially focus on the molecular/synaptic mechanisms believed to provide the basis for behavioral memory. Next, we will discuss approaches that have been used to test whether the molecular mechanisms of synaptic plasticity (often discovered using in vitro approaches) are necessary for memory in the brains of intact, behaving animals. Memory, however, is the product of many neurons and brain systems interacting across the brain. Accordingly, I will discuss state-of-the-art experimental approaches to manipulate and measure neuronal activity in intact animals as the field seeks to better understand how the brain forms, stores, and retrieves memories.
Sample Syllabus:
| # | Topic |
| 1 |
Introduction and Overview Mind Mapping Exercise |
| 2 | Synaptic Plasticity and Memory: A Brief History |
| 3 | LTP: Molecular Mechanisms: Synaptic and Genomic Contributions |
| 4 | LTP: Specific Mechanisms and Maintenance |
| 5 |
LTP: A Synthesis Making Memories: Conceptual Issues and Methods |
| 6 | Memory Formation |
| 7 | Memory Consolidation I |
| 8 | Memory Consolidation II |
| EXAM I | |
| 9 |
Memory Maintenance and Forgetting Memory Modulation I |
| 10 | Memory Modulation II |
| 11 | The Fate of Retrieved Memories: Memory Updating, Reconsolidation, and Extinction |
| 12 | Listening in on the Brain to Understand Memory: Electrophysiological Recordings, Optical Imaging, and fMRIApproaches to Manipulate Neuronal Function |
| 13 | The Hippocampus and Declarative Memory |
| 14 | Circuit Functions of the Hippocampus Critical for Declarative Memory |
| 15 | Hippocampal – Neocortical Interactions Over Time: Systems Memory Consolidation Theory & Evidence |
| 16 | Maintaining Circuits for Memory: Homeostatic Synaptic Scaling |
| 17 | Research Paper Discussions I |
| 18 | Research Paper Discussions II |
| EXAM II |