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SUMMARY:Probing the mechanisms of learning and memory at the single-neuron
  level in humans - Dr Ueli Rutishauser California Institute of Technology
DTSTART:20160211T160000Z
DTEND:20160211T170000Z
UID:TALK63506@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Sarah Harrison
DESCRIPTION:How neuronal circuits enable complex behaviors such as learnin
 g and memory-based decision making remains poorly understood. Much of what
  we know about brain function has been inferred from studying the response
  of individual neurons in animal models. This leaves us unable to approach
  many important questions for lack of similar data in humans. We take adva
 ntage of rare neurosurgical procedures to record at single-cell resolution
  in behaving humans. I will review our experimental studies of individual 
 neurons in the human hippocampus and amygdala during the formation and ret
 rieval of declarative memories. These studies provide unique mechanistic i
 nsights into the relationship between neuronal activity\, plasticity\, mem
 ory formation\, and the role of theta in coordinating large-scale neuronal
  dynamics. I will describe evidence for two distinct functional types of n
 eurons in the human MTL: visually selective (VS) and memory selective (MS)
  neurons. VS neurons have highly specific sensory responses that occur ear
 ly and irrespective of previous experience. MS neurons\, on the other hand
 \, are not visually selective\, and are highly sensitive to previous exper
 ience and the internal brain state. Dynamically\, the responses of these t
 wo sub-populations is orthogonal to each other. I will further describe ev
 idence that MS and VS neurons are anatomically distinct and that their int
 eraction is fundamental to the formation and retrieval of memories. These 
 two functional sub-populations are a candidate for a circuit-level descrip
 tion of memory formation.
LOCATION:Hodgkin Huxley Seminar Room\, Physiology Building\, Downing Site
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