Memory Task-specific Encoding by Neuronal Networks in the Human Hippocampus

May 7, 2015

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Winner of the Philip L. Gildenberg S&F Resident Award, Mark R. Witcher, MD, resident at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, presented his research, Memory Task-specific Encoding by Neuronal Networks in the Human Hippocampus, during the American Association of Neurological Surgeons’ 2015 Annual Scientific Meeting.

Epilepsy patients undergoing intracranial monitoring for seizure localization provide an excellent model to study discharge patterns of single neurons within the mesial temporal lobe during memory tasks. Animal models have shown that discharge patterns of CA3 neuronal populations influence the discharge of CA1 neurons. The researchers hypothesized that human hippocampal neurons have regionally and temporally specific and interrelated discharge patterns, which contribute to task specific memory formation and retrieval. 

Read the entire news release from the American Association of Neurological Surgeons.

Media Relations

Marguerite Beck: marbeck@wakehealth.edu, 336-716-2415