The general goal of our research program is to understand how our brains normally encode, store and retrieve information. By combining mouse-genetic, molecular biology, immunohistochemical and behavioral approaches we currently focus on two major questions: First, to understand how memories are initially encoded in the hippocampus, and, in particular, how adult neurogenesis might contribute to this process; Second, to understand how these memories are subsequently transformed into lifelong (or remote) memories in the cortex for long-term storage. Understanding how these basic processes work is an essential stepping stone in developing more effective treatment strategies for memory dysfunction, whether associated with normal aging, disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, or resulting from stroke or trauma.

LEARNING / MEMORY / GENETICALLY-ENGINEERED MICE / HIPPOCAMPUS / CORTEX / NEUROGENESIS

Kee, N., Teixeira, C.M., Wang, A.H. and Frankland, P.W. (2007). Preferential incorporation of adult-generated granule cells into spatial memory networks in the dentate gyrus. Nature Neuroscience, 10, 355-362.

Teixeira, C.M., Pomedli, S., Maei, H.R., Kee, N. and Frankland, P.W. (2006). Involvement of the anterior cingulate cortex in the expression of remote spatial memory. The Journal of Neuroscience, 26, 7555-7564.

Frankland, P.W. and Bontempi, B. (2005). The organization of recent and remote memory. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 6, 119-130.

Frankland, P.W., Bontempi, B., Talton, L.E., Kaczmarek, L. and Silva, A.J. (2004). The involvement of the anterior cingulate cortex in remote contextual fear memory. Science, 304 (5671), 14, 881-883.

Frankland, P.W., O'Brien, C., Ohno, M., Kirkwood, A. and Silva, A.J. (2001). Alpha-CaMKII-dependent plasticity in the cortex is required for permanent memory. Nature, 411, 309-313.