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Howard Eichenbaum

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Howard Eichenbaum
Born1947
Scientific career
FieldsPsychology
InstitutionsBoston University, Wellesley College

Howard Eichenbaum (born 1947) is an American psychologist and neuroscientist who studies the hippocampus. He is a University Professor and Director of the Center for Memory and Brain at Boston University, having previously worked at Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA. He is the Editor in Chief of the journal Hippocampus.

Research on the role of hippocampus in memory function

Prof. Eichenbaum has performed extensive research on the role of the hippocampus in memory function, presenting a theory of the role of the hippocampus in forming relational memories.[1] This work was important for emphasizing the behavioral role of the hippocampus beyond forming spatial representations of the environment. Eichenbaum and his collaborators performed important early studies emphasizing the non-spatial responses of hippocampal neurons, showing spiking responses selective to individual odors and reward delivery during performance of behavioral tasks.[2][3]

Research on context-selective neuronal responses

Research by Howard Eichenbaum and his lab members also demonstrated the strong context-dependence of neuronal responses in the hippocampus. An important study from his lab presented data from rats performing a spatial alternation task with return arms. As the rat ran up the stem of the task on different trials, the spiking response of hippocampal neurons depended on the prior or future response of the rat, showing differential firing even though the location and movement direction of the rat was the same.[4] This illustrated the strong memory dependence of hippocampal neuronal responses independent of the spatial location and movement of the rat.

Research on time cells

Research by Howard Eichenbaum and other researchers has demonstrated that individual neurons in the hippocampus and other regions show spiking activity at specific time intervals during behavioral tasks. Prof. Eichenbaum described these neurons as “time cells.”[5][6][7] The loss of time cells in the hippocampus may contribute to the loss of episodic memory function described in patient HM by researchers including Brenda Milner and Suzanne Corkin.[8][9] Time cells may contribute to the role of the hippocampus in allowing mental time travel in the recall of past episodic memories. Time cells may code individual time intervals necessary to disambiguate different temporal episodes within an episodic memory.

References

  1. ^ Eichenbaum H, Cohen NJ (2004) From Conditioning to Conscious Recollection: Memory Systems of the Brain. Oxford University Press: Oxford, UK.
  2. ^ Wiener SI, Paul CA, Eichenbaum H. (1989) Spatial and behavioral correlates of hippocampal neuronal activity. J Neurosci. 9(8):2737-63.
  3. ^ Wood ER, Dudchenko PA, Eichenbaum H. (1999) The global record of memory in hippocampal neuronal activity. Nature. 397(6720):613-6.
  4. ^ Wood ER, Dudchenko PA, Robitsek RJ, Eichenbaum H. (2000) Hippocampal neurons encode information about different types of memory episodes occurring in the same location. Neuron. 27(3):623-33.
  5. ^ Eichenbaum H. (2014) Time cells in the hippocampus: a new dimension for mapping memories. Nat Rev Neurosci. 15(11):732-44.
  6. ^ MacDonald, C.J., Lepage, K.Q., Eden, U.T., and Eichenbaum, H. (2011). Hippocampal “Time Cells” Bridge the Gap in Memory for Discontiguous Events. Neuron 71, 737–749.
  7. ^ Kraus BJ, Robinson RJ 2nd, White JA, Eichenbaum H, Hasselmo ME. (2013) Hippocampal "time cells": time versus path integration. Neuron. 78(6):1090-101.
  8. ^ Jenny Marder (February 25, 2013). "What a Missing Section of One Man's Brain Taught Science About Memory". PBS. Archived from the original on June 6, 2014. Retrieved July 16, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ Kate Lunau (February 17, 2013). "The mystery of memory". Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved July 16, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
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