Rutgers University
Division of Life Sciences
Department of Psychology
152 Frelinghuysen Road
Piscataway, NJ 08854

(732) 445-0719
FAX: (732) 445-2263

totto@rci.rutgers.edu

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Electrophysiological assessment of the role of synaptic plasticity in olfactory learning and memory.
Neuropsychological examination of the contributions of amygdala and hippocampus to memory.
Examination of the biochemical mechanisms underlying anatomical and functional recovery following experimentally-induced neural damage.

• Single Unit Recording
• Neuropsychological analysis of the role of various brain regions in learning
• Histological preparation of brain tissue for anatomical tract tracing
• Automation of behavioral apparata

The primary focus of our work is to explore the ways in which information is acquired and stored in the mammalian brain. Most of these studies involve an examination of the neural substrates of olfactory (odor) memory in the rat. Briefly, we focus mainly on the neurobiology of olfactory memory for two reasons. First, when trained in tasks which use odors as stimuli, rats exhibit a remarkable ability to learn and remember a variety of different types of information. Second, the brain areas participating in the detection and analysis of odors are intimately and reciprocally connected with several brain areas known to play a prominent role in learning, including the amygdala, the hippocampus, and the rhinal cortical areas (perirhinal and entorhinal cortex).

These studies span several levels of neurobiological analysis. We are currently examining the participation of various brain regions in olfactory memory through neuropsychological (lesion) studies, electrophysiological studies examining the response properties of neurons in the amygdala, hippocampus, and rhinal cortical areas in awake, behaving rats during learning, and immunohistochemical studies examining the extent to which learning results in an activation of specific genes and upregulation of specific proteins within brain cells.

For complete list: PubMed

Schettino, L. F., and Otto, T. (2001) Patterns of Fos expression in the amygdala and ventral perirhinal cortex induced by training in an olfactory fear conditioning paradigm. Behav. Neurosci. 115: 1257-1272.

Herzog, C. and Otto, T. (2002) Administration of transforming growth factor alpha enhances anatomical and behavioral recovery following olfactory nerve transection. Neurosci. 113: 569-580.

Cousens, G., and Otto, T. (2003) Contributions of orbitofrontal cortex and basolateral amygdaloid complex to olfactory discrimination learning with auditory secondary reinforcement. Integrative Physiol. Behav. Sci., 38, 272-294.

Nicot, A., Otto, T., Brabet, P., and DiCicco-Bloom, E.M. (2004) Altered social behavior in pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide Type-I receptor-deficient mice. J. Neurosci.24, 8786-8795.