The brain decade in debate: I. Neurobiology of learning and memory

Abstract

This article is a transcription of an electronic symposium in which some active researchers were invited by the Brazilian Society for Neuroscience and Behavior (SBNeC) to discuss the last decade's advances in neurobiology of learning and memory. The way different parts of the brain are recruited during the storage of different kinds of memory (e.g., short-term vs long-term memory, declarative vs procedural memory) and even the property of these divisions were discussed. It was pointed out that the brain does not really store memories, but stores traces of information that are later used to create memories, not always expressing a completely veridical picture of the past experienced reality. To perform this process different parts of the brain act as important nodes of the neural network that encode, store and retrieve the information that will be used to create memories. Some of the brain regions are recognizably active during the activation of short-term working memory (e.g., prefrontal cortex), or the storage of information retrieved as long-term explicit memories (e.g., hippocampus and related cortical areas) or the modulation of the storage of memories related to emotional events (e.g., amygdala). This does not mean that there is a separate neural structure completely supporting the storage of each kind of memory but means that these memories critically depend on the functioning of these neural structures. The current view is that there is no sense in talking about hippocampusbased or amygdala-based memory since this implies that there is a oneto-one correspondence. The present question to be solved is how systems interact in memory. The pertinence of attributing a critical role to cellular processes like synaptic tagging and protein kinase A activation to explain the memory storage processes at the cellular level was also discussed.

Neuroanatomical Structures Underlying the Extinction of Drug-Seeking Behavior

“…After information enters the hippocampus, the entorhinal cortex (EC) synapses on cells in the DG which projects to CA3, then onto CA1, and back to the subiculum. The subiculum then regulates the transmission of information to the hypothalamus and mammillary bodies (via the fornix) or the relay of information to the EC thereby propelling information back to the sensory cortex [194,196]. Afferent projections are received from a number of subcortical inputs including the amygdala, medial septum and diagonal band of Broca, claustrum, substantia innonminata and basal nucleus of Meynert, thalamus, lateral preoptic and lateral hypothalamic areas, supramammillary and retromammillary regions, VTA, tegmental reticular fields, raphe nuclei, dorsal tegmental nucleus, and the locus coeruleus [194].…”

Promovendo resiliência em vítimas de trauma psicológico

“…Although there is an interindividual variability in how the memory of daily events and basic emotions is processed, 4 the neural ability of emotional reconstruction and reinterpretation of traumatic memories can also be effectively used in psychotherapy. The level of consciousness and emotions modulate the memory formation, 12,22 and the multiple memory systems can be simultaneously activated and interact in several occasions. 20,21 According to neuroscience findings, the key-factor for the therapeutic reconstruction of traumatic memories relies on managing the consciousness states and emotions properly, in order to modify the modulation of the traumatic memory and, consequently, the relation with the past event.…”

“…To accomplish such a process, different parts of the brain work as neural nodes that encode, store and retrieve information that will be used to create memories. 12,13 This way, when a traumatic or emotional event is retrieved, it can undergo a cognitive and emotional change. Loftus 14 observed the lack of accuracy in the recovery process by demonstrating the phenomenon of false memories.…”

“…12,22 Recovery of traumatic memories, both spontaneously and by induction, occurs in an altered state of consciousness, with remarkable emotional expression. Once the state of consciousness is altered by means of induction and relaxation, 23 the perception of an event can undergo changes as well, 24 and consequently, a new interaction and relationship with the trauma context will take place.…”

A neurobiologia da psicopatologia e psicoterapia e as implicações práticas de uma perspectiva materialista na definição de mente

“…A década de 90, conhecida como a "década do cérebro", marca uma mudança profunda nesse estado de coisas, já que a pesquisa sobre o cérebro cresce exponencialmente (Araújo, 2003;Baddeley et al, 2000). O crescente esforço em investigação dos neurofisiologistas, neurobiólogos, neuroanatomistas, psicofarmarcologistas, biólogos moleculares, geneticistas, neurocirurgiões, neurocientistas computacionais, psiconeuroimunologistas e, a partir da observação clínica, de psiquiatras, neurologistas e psicólogos, ajudaram a desvendar a "glândula pineal" de Descartes.…”