Thompson, Richard F.
Behavioral Neuroscience

My basic research interest is in how the mammalian brain codes, stores, and retrieves memories - the neurobiological substrate of learning and memory. In my lab, we are identifying essential memory trace circuits using all appropriate neurobiological techniques (neurophysiology, neuroanatomy, neuropharmacology) and tracking these memory circuits through the brain. The goal is to localize and analyze the neurobiological mechanisms of memory storage in the mammalian brain. We also focus on mechanisms of synaptic plasticity: long-term potentiation in hippocampus and long-term depression in cerebellum.

Selected Publications:

• Thompson, R.F. (1986) The neurobiology of learning and memory. Science 223:941-947.
• Shors, T.J., Seib, T.B., Levine, S., and Thompson, R.F. (1989) Inescapable versus escapable shock modulates long-term-potentiation in the rat hippocampus. Science 224:224-226.
• Thompson, R.F. and Krupa, D.G. (1994) Organization of memory traces in the mammalian brain. Ann. Rev. Neurosci. 17:519-549.

This document brought online by:
Jeffrey S. Grethe <grethe@www.usc.edu>