How does ageing change the neuronal ensembles that support and form memory? What happens when we activate them?
This project investigates how hippocampal memory ensembles, known as engrams, relate to behavioral responses during contextual fear conditioning by comparing young and healthy aged mice and contrasting two different neuronal ensemble activation strategies in young mice.
Using the viral Robust Activity Marking (RAM) system and targeting dorsal dentate gyrus, we label neurons recruited during context learning and examine their subsequent activation during memory recall. Thereby we investigate ageing-related changes in memory storage and reactivation mechanisms, as well as mechanisms that help maintain memory specificity. Moreover, we employ chemogenetic and pharmacogenetic tools to examine circuit and transmitter mechanisms in the dentate gyrus that control the formation of such memory engrams across the ages.