The Structural Basis of Learning and Memory
{'Code': '08090200', 'Directorate': {'Abbreviation': 'BIO', 'LongName': 'Direct For Biological Sciences'}, 'Division': {'Abbreviation': 'IOS', 'LongName': 'Division Of Integrative Organismal Systems'}}
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Dr. J. David Robertson and his colleagues are investigating the                 physiological processes underlying learning and memory, using the               common octopus as an experimental subject.  This animal is an                   ideal choice for a simple model system, since it has the most                   highly developed brain of all known invertebrates.  It is likely                that the basic principles found to operate here will also be                    applicable to higher (vertebrate) species as well.                                                                                                              The basic approach is to study the morphological effects of                     tactile learning on the octopus brain by the use of electron                    microscopy (EM), comparing brains of trained and untrained                      animals.  Naive animals are taught a touch learning paradigm,                   e.g., to accept a grooved and reject a smooth rod.  It is assumed               that small cellular changes occur with learning, and that these                 changes can be detected by EM techniques.  In particular, Dr.                   Robertson believes that new synapses are formed with learning,                  and that the first step in this synapse-formation process is an                 extension of minute finger-like projections (filopodia) of                      neurons, resembling those extended by neurons in tissue culture.                                                                                                The extension of growth cone filopodia depends on the                           polymerization of the protein molecule, actin (rather than upon                 protein synthesis).  The drugs cytochalasin-B and -D can both                   reversibly interfere with actin polymerization.  If Dr.                         Robertson's theory is correct, these drugs should also cause a                  reversible loss of learning ability without altering previously                 established memories.  The three main goals of the present                      project are:                                                                                                                                                         1) to demonstrate that this treatment does indeed cause a                       reversible block of learning without interfering with                           previously-established memories,                                                                                                                                2) to show that the numbers of filopodia increase during                        learning and decrease during periods of quiescence, and                                                                                                         3) most importantly, to reveal that the numbers of filopodia                    are significantly decreased in brains that have been                            injected with the cytochalasin drugs.                                                                                                                      Ultimatedly Dr. Robertson will attempt experiments with other                   drugs, such as nerve growth factors (that are known to promote                  filopodial extension in growth cones), and be able to show that                 this treatment increases learning ability.  The general                         principles discovered should help in understanding ways to                      improve learning and memory ability in humans, and perhaps have                 implications for the alleviation of memory impairments such as                  those seen in afflictions such as Alzheimer's disease.
{'FirstName': 'J. David', 'LastName': 'Robertson', 'PI_MID_INIT': None, 'PI_SUFX_NAME': None, 'PI_FULL_NAME': 'J. David Robertson', 'EmailAddress': None, 'NSF_ID': '000352034', 'StartDate': '04/01/1989', 'EndDate': None, 'RoleCode': 'Principal Investigator'}
{'Name': 'Duke University', 'CityName': 'DURHAM', 'ZipCode': '277054640', 'PhoneNumber': '9196843030', 'StreetAddress': '2200 W MAIN ST', 'StreetAddress2': None, 'CountryName': 'United States', 'StateName': 'North Carolina', 'StateCode': 'NC', 'CONGRESSDISTRICT': '04', 'CONGRESS_DISTRICT_ORG': 'NC04', 'ORG_UEI_NUM': 'TP7EK8DZV6N5', 'ORG_LGL_BUS_NAME': 'DUKE UNIVERSITY', 'ORG_PRNT_UEI_NUM': None}
{'Name': 'Duke University Medical Center', 'CityName': 'Durham', 'StateCode': 'NC', 'ZipCode': '27706', 'StreetAddress': None, 'CountryCode': 'US', 'CountryName': 'United States', 'StateName': 'North Carolina', 'CountryFlag': '1', 'CONGRESSDISTRICT': '02', 'CONGRESS_DISTRICT_PERF': 'NC02'}
{'Code': '1161', 'Text': 'NEUROBIOLO OF LEARNING & MEMOR'}
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