The Mizumori Lab
The Laboratory of Neural Systems, Decision Science, Learning and Memory (NSDSLM) seeks to understand plasticity mechanisms within neural systems that underlie normal and pathological mnemonic functions. Our animal model, experience-dependent navigation, is a natural and essential, yet complex, learning system that is often impaired when one or more part of its broad, underlying neural circuit is compromised, such as in Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, and brain injury, as well as in cases of drug addiction.
Experience-dependent navigation requires the proper function, and integration, of neural activity located in different learning and memory-related brain structures (e.g. the hippocampus, amygdala, prefrontal cortex, and the striatum). Activity in these structures is supported and regulated by other areas of brain that mediate sensation, perception, the selection of appropriate responses, and the evaluation of the outcomes of behaviors. Thus, we take a broad neural systems perspective to study the interactions between multiple brain systems during active navigation. Specifically, we use genetic, cellular, and neural circuit methods in freely behaving rodents to uncover the neural and behavioral mechanisms that underlie one’s ability to learn and remember spatial context-dependent new information, and to make appropriate decisions that guide future navigational choices.
The Mizumori lab is proud of 4 of our undergraduate students who will be presenting their respective work at the 2012 Mary Gates Undergraduate Research Symposium. Thomas Coleman, Chantelle Kinzel and Nile Graddis will be presenting their hard work at the poster presentation session. Joshua Larkin will be giving an oral presentation of his work during the Behavioral and Neural Adaptation session of the undergraduate talks. Good luck and have fun to you all, you have worked extremely hard and the results reflect this. Congratulations to you all.
Join us for the seventh annual Allen L. Edwards Psychology Lecture Series: Understanding Brains and Behavior. This popular series brings notable psychologists to the University of Washington to co-present with faculty from the UW Department of Psychology. Together they will examine how the brain supports complex human and animal behavior. This free, public series is made possible by a generous bequest from http://web.psych.washington.edu/psych.php#p=33 " href="http://web.psych.washington.edu/psych.php#p=33"> Professor Allen L. Edwards with the support of a bequest from http://web.psych.washington.edu/psych.php#p=34 " href="http://web.psych.washington.edu/psych.php#p=34"> Professor Roger B. Loucks. Registration requested.
Feb. 29, 2012
Why do some people learn at faster rates than others, and retain information for a longer time? How does learning become more efficient? Can there be too much leaning? Sheri Mizumori, professor and chair of the UW psychology department, and Daphna Shohamy, assistant professor of psychology at Columbia University, will discuss recent research that reveals new insights into how the brain selects and retains information in memory.
The cover illustration of the November 2011 (Vol 21 No. 11) issue of Hippocampus features data from an article by Patrick R. Gill, Sheri J.Y. Mizumori and David M. Smith
The cover illustration of the May 2011 (Vol 18 No. 5) issue of Learning and Memory features data from an article by Adria K Martig and Sheri J.Y. Mizumori.
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