Award details

Neural substrates for spatial and non-spatial memory in food-storing birds

Reference	S20402
Principal Investigator / Supervisor	Professor Susan Healy
Co-Investigators / Co-Supervisors	Dr Tom Smulders
Institution	University of Edinburgh
Department	Inst of Cell, Animal and Population Biol
Funding type	Research
Value (£)	134,845
Status	Completed
Type	Research Grant
Start date	01/01/2004
End date	28/02/2006
Duration	26 months

Abstract

Food-storing birds have better spatial memory and larger hippocampus than do non-storers, but are these two facts functionally related? Birds will be trained to perform a working memory task on which spatial and local information can be dissociated. Using immediate early gene expression we will map brain areas differentially involved in processing the two types of information. The role of the hippocampus (and other candidate areas) will be investigated using reversible inactivation and chronic electrophysiological recording. By adopting a comparative approach, we will pinpoint which functional changes have led to better spatial memory performance in food-hoarding birds and thus gain a better understanding of how the brain encodes memories.

Summary

unavailable

Committee	Closed Committee - Animal Sciences (AS)
Research Topics	X – not assigned to a current Research Topic
Research Priority	X – Research Priority information not available
Research Initiative	X - not in an Initiative
Funding Scheme	X – not Funded via a specific Funding Scheme

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