Episodic memories  are made up of different pieces of information, for instance where the event took place, who was there and when it happened. How does the brain combine these pieces into one coherent memory? In the latest study from our lab, we show that a specialized structure deep inside the brain, called the  hippocampus, plays a central role in this binding process. The results were published in the journal Nature Communications.
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Humans have the remarkably ability to integrate information from multiple memories and infer indirect relationships. But how does our brain support this important function? In the latest study from our lab, we show that rhythmic brain waves, called theta oscillations, engage and synchronize the brain regions that support the integration of memories. The results were published in the journal Current Biology.
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A key feature of Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the depletion of striatal dopamine, which is associated with the motor and non-motor symptoms of the disease. In this study, we sought to investigate the role of dopamine in spatial memory in PD patients in a cross-over medication ON/OFF design. We used a virtual reality task to assess striatal- and hippocampal-dependent spatial memory. Results show that PD patients and age-matched controls rely more on striatal cue-based spatial learning than the young adults tested in previous studies. Medication improved striatal-dependent spatial memory. The benefit of medication on hippocampal-dependent spatial memory depended on prior experience with the task. These findings shed new light on dopaminergic modulation of hippocampal-striatal functions in PD.

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Alzheimer’s patients suffer from severe memory loss and disorientation. An international research team led by Christian Doeller (Donders Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands) and Nikolai Axmacher (Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany) has now shown that a genetically increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease affects a brain region known as the “GPS” of the brain already in healthy young adults. The results were published in the journal “Science”.
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