The Department of Psychology and the Cognitive and Behavioral Sciences (CBS) Colloquium Series will present a talk titled “Place Cell Coding During Slow and Fast Gamma Oscillations,” with Laura Lee Colgin, Ph.D., at 2 p.m. Friday, April 3, in 48 DeGarmo Hall.

Colgin is an assistant professor of neuroscience at the University of Texas at Austin.

Abstract

Brain rhythms reflect periodically synchronized electrical activity across groups of neurons and are thought to facilitate neuronal communication across brain regions. Gamma is a particular rhythm type that occurs throughout many regions of the brain and has been linked to functions such as attentional selection and memory. In the hippocampus, a key brain region for memory, two distinct subtypes of gamma rhythms, slow and fast gamma, occur at different times.  During slow gamma (~40 Hz), hippocampal subfield CA1 is coupled with neighboring subfield CA3, an area that is involved in memory retrieval. During fast gamma (~80 Hz), CA1 is coupled with the medial entorhinal cortex, a region that transmits information about an animal’s current position in the environment.

In this lecture, results will be presented that support the hypothesis that spatial coding in the hippocampal network differs during slow and fast gamma states. The results suggest that upcoming locations are represented during slow gamma and that recent locations are coded during fast gamma. The implications of these findings with regard to mechanisms of memory processing in the hippocampus will be discussed.

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CBS Colloquium Series

The CBS Colloquium Series brings high caliber researchers to the Illinois State University campus to share their work with the local academic community. Individual faculty members invite speakers to campus based on their interests. The Department of Psychology also invites alumni to speak in the series in an effort to maintain strong connections with former students and provide them with a chance to pass on their knowledge to current students.

The series provides both faculty and students with a variety of professional development opportunities and allows students to network with professionals in their field of study.

This speaker series is funded by the Department of Psychology. To support the Department of Psychology and help enhance its educational mission with advanced teaching methods, guest speakers, and more opportunities for students to learn through research experiences, please consider making a gift to the department through the Illinois State University Foundation.

If you need a special accommodation to participate in this program, call the Department of Psychology at (309) 439-8651. Please allow sufficient time to arrange the accommodation.