Brazis, Nicholas J.

Williams, Faculty Advisor, Joseph

Digital Commons @ Illinois Wesleyan University

Illinois Wesleyan UniversityDigital Commons @ IWUJohn Wesley Powell Student ResearchConference 2000, 11th Annual JWP ConferenceApr 15th, 10:00 AM - 11:00 AMTemporal Differences in Theta ResetNicholas J. BrazisIllinois Wesleyan UniversityJoseph Williams, Faculty AdvisorIllinois Wesleyan UniversityFollow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/jwprcThis Event is brought to you for free and open access by The Ames Library, the Andrew W. Mellon Center for Curricular and FacultyDevelopment, the Office of the Provost and the Office of the President. It has been accepted for inclusion in Digital Commons @ IWU bythe faculty at Illinois Wesleyan University. For more information, please contact digitalcommons@iwu.edu.©Copyright is owned by the author of this document.Nicholas J. Brazis and Joseph Williams, Faculty Advisor, "Temporal Differences in Theta Reset" (April 15, 2000). JohnWesley Powell Student Research Conference. Paper 27.http://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/jwprc/2000/posters/27THE JOHN WESLEY POWELL STUDENT RESEARCH CONFERENCE · APRIL 2000 Poster Presentation 55 TEMPORAL DIFFERENCES IN THETA RESET Nicholas 1. Brazis and Joseph Williams' Department of Psychology, Illinois Wesleyan University Neurons within the hippocampus (HPC), entorhinal cortex (EC), and anterior cingulate (AC) display a characteristic 4 - 12 Hz frequency EEG pattern called the theta rhythm. Experimental disruptions of this theta rhythm are correlated with deficits in cognitive processing. Hence, theta may contribute to learning and memory. One proposed mechanism suggests theta resets by stopping and restarting again, phase-locking itself to incoming sensory input. This reset may allow cells to be in a maximal state of firing when sensory information arrives, thereby strengthening synapses and, hence, cognitive processing. Previous studies from this lab have shown that theta reset occurs in the HPC, EC and AC and that theta reset is highly predictive of correct working memory. However, the neural mechanism behind theta reset is still unclear. Theoretically, the HPC, EC, and AC theta rhythm is generated via projections from the medial septal area (MSA), which contains neurons that fire in a rhythmically bursting pattern. Inhibition of these neurons precedes theta reset in the HPC. It has been hypothesized that if MSA generates theta in the EC and the AC as well as the HPC, then reset of the EC and AC should occur at the same time as HPC reset. This study looks at temporal differences in theta reset in the HPC, EC, and AC. 

Temporal Differences in Theta Reset

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Temporal Differences in Theta Reset

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