Research Projects

The dorsal hippocampus (DH) is crucial for consolidating contextual fear-conditioned (CxFC) memory, but it can also be acquired without the hippocampus. This suggests that other brain areas may be recruited in the absence of DH. Preliminary data shows that CxFC memory compensatory circuitries develop in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) after multiple fear-conditioning trials. Sleep deprivation and recovery alter the development of these pathways, but the effects on cytoarchitectural changes and neuronal recruitment are unknown. The study aims to investigate the induced cytoarchitectural changes in the mPFC in the absence of DH, the recruitment of neurons in the mPFC for compensatory CxFC, the role of sleep on cytoarchitectural changes and neuronal recruitment for the formation of compensatory neural circuitries of CxFC in the mPFC area, the role of histone deacetylase (HDAC) in the mPFC area in the formation of compensatory CxFC memory, and the role of sleep in the induction of compensatory neuronal circuitry in the absence of DH. The results of this study will help understand the compensatory mechanisms that make the brain capable of performing even after damage, potentially offering promise for targeted treatment of post-traumatic stress disorders using the naturally occurring HAT inhibitor "Garcinol" and through sleep management.