It has been suggested that there are two distinct and parallel mechanisms for controlling instrumental behavior in mammals: goal-directed actions and habits. To gain an understanding of how these two systems interact to control behavior, it is essential to characterize the mechanisms by which the balance between these systems is influenced by…

The ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS) is a primary mechanism through which proteins are degraded in cells. UPS activity in the dorsal hippocampus (DH) is necessary for multiple types of memory, including object memory, in male rodents. However, sex differences in DH UPS activation after fear conditioning suggest that other forms of learning may…

The effect of repetitive training on learned behavior has been an important subject in neuroscience. In instrumental conditioning in mammals, learned action early in training is often goal-driven and controlled by outcome expectancy, but as training progresses, it becomes more habitual and insensitive to outcome devaluation. Similarly, we recently…

How does the time of day of a practice session affect learning of a new motor sequence in the elderly? Participants practiced a given finger tapping sequence either during morning or evening hours. All participants robustly improved performance speed within the session concurrent with a reorganization of the tapping pattern of the sequence.…

Research into the neural mechanisms that underlie higher-order cognitive control of eating behavior suggests that ventral hippocampal (vHC) neurons, which are critical for emotional memory, also inhibit energy intake. We showed previously that optogenetically inhibiting vHC glutamatergic neurons during the early postprandial period, when the…

It is thought that goal-directed control of actions weakens or becomes masked by habits over time. We tested the opposing hypothesis that goal-directed control becomes stronger over time, and that this growth is modulated by the overall action-outcome contiguity. Despite group differences in action-outcome contiguity early in training, rats…

Perineuronal nets (PNNs) are specialized extracellular matrix structures that surround subsets of neurons throughout the central nervous system (CNS). They are made up of chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs), hyaluronan, tenascin-R, and many other link proteins that together make up their rigid and lattice-like structure. Modulation of PNNs…

In signaled active avoidance (SigAA), rats learn to suppress Pavlovian freezing and emit actions to remove threats and prevent footshocks. SigAA is critical for understanding aversively motivated instrumental behavior and anxiety-related active coping. However, with standard protocols ~25% of rats exhibit high freezing and poor avoidance. This has…

The delayed match-to-sample task (DMS) is used to probe working memory (WM) across species. While the involvement of the PFC in this task has been established, limited information exists regarding the recruitment of broader circuitry, especially under the low- versus high-WM load. We sought to address this question by using a variable-delay…

Behavioral flexibility is important in a changing environment. Previous research suggests that systems consolidation, a long-term poststorage process that alters memory traces, may reduce behavioral flexibility. However, exactly how systems consolidation affects flexibility is unknown. Here, we tested how systems consolidation affects: (1)…

Growth hormone (GH) deficiency is associated with cognitive decline which occur both in normal aging and in endocrine disorders. Several brain areas express receptors for GH although their functional role is unclear. To determine how GH affects the capacity for learning and memory by specific actions in one of the key areas, the hippocampus, we…

A reminder can render consolidated memory labile and susceptible to amnesic agents during a reconsolidation window. For the case of threat memory (also termed fear memory), it has been suggested that extinction training during this reconsolidation window has the same disruptive impact. This procedure could provide a powerful therapeutic principle…

The spatial and temporal coordination of growth factor signaling is critical for both presynaptic and postsynaptic plasticity underlying long-term memory formation. We investigated the spatiotemporal dynamics of "Aplysia" cysteine-rich neurotrophic factor (ApCRNF) signaling during the induction of activity-dependent long-term…