Investigator: Victoria Templer, Providence College

Mentor: Rebecca Burwell, Brown University

Scientific Theme: Neuroscience

Abstract: This project proposes a new animal model for study of sociality, abstract memory processing, and the effect sociality might have on distinct types of memory. It has recently been documented that strong social relationships, like a healthy marriage, serve as a protective mechanism against dementia and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and age-related cognitive decline, but the specific cognitive mechanism underlying sparing of mnemonic functioning is not known. While rats are social species, few research groups have examined sociality in rats, and no groups have evaluated how sociality might affect specific explicit memory processes. By analyzing group behavior, dominant and submissive interactions, and determining if social hierarchy exists, a sociality index for rats living in a large social group will be created so that levels of sociality can be quantified. Examining the under-explored area of sociality in rats by housing animals either socially or individually and employing a battery of memory tests that capture different elements of memory will help determine the specific mechanism by which strong social relationships may provide a protective benefit for particular memory dysfunctions. Progress in disease prevention and treatment of dementia and age-related memory decline depends on localization of the specific brain structures and cognitive processes responsible for distorted mnemonic processing. However, the first step in this necessary undertaking must be to develop cognitive tasks appropriate for rodent animal models that capture the specific types of memory processes that are severely disrupted in these devastating diseases and normal aging. The memory processes that allow a person to remember if they took their medication, or even if they are aware of their own thoughts will be modeled in rats using cognitive behavioral tasks that examine critical aspects of episodic memory, such as the ability to remember when an event occurred and memory awareness (metamemory).

Human Health Relevance: It will be determined if relative sparing of cognitive processes might occur in animals with social enrichment as compared to animals without social enrichment. Examining the possibility of sociality as a protective mechanism that allows for plastic expression of mnemonic function has the potential to serve as a critical translational tool for understanding the neurobiological bases of specific memory processes.