The human brain relies on the complex interactions of distinct brain regions to support cognitive processes. The interplay between the hippocampus and neocortical regions plays a key role in the formation, storage, and retrieval of long-term episodic memories. Oscillatory activities during sleep are a fundamental mechanism that binds distributed neuronal networks into functionally coherent ensembles. However, the large-scale hippocampal-neocortical oscillatory mechanisms that support flexible modulation of long-term memory remain poorly understood.
Furthermore, alterations to physiologic spatiotemporal patterns that are essential for intact memory function can result in pathophysiology in brain disorders such as focal epilepsy. Investigating how epileptic network activity disrupts connectivity in distributed networks and the organization of oscillatory activity are additional crucial areas that require further research. Our experiments on rodents and human patients with epilepsy have provided valuable insights into these mechanisms. In rodents, we used high-density microelectrode arrays in tandem with hippocampal probes to analyze intracranial electroencephalography (iEEG) from multiple cortical regions and the hippocampus.
We identified key hippocampal-cortical oscillatory biomarkers that were differentially coordinated based on the age, strength, and type of memory. We also analyzed iEEG from patients with focal epilepsy and demonstrated how individualized pattern of pathologic-physiologic coupling can disrupt large-scale memory circuits. Our findings may offer new opportunities for therapies aimed at addressing distributed network dysfunction in various neuropsychiatric disorders.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:columbia.edu/oai:academiccommons.columbia.edu:10.7916/g8v3-d453 |
| Date | January 2023 |
| Creators | Dahal, Prawesh |
| Source Sets | Columbia University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Theses |
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