The use of acute ethanol administration as a tool to investigate multiple memory systems

The discovery of multiple memory systems supported by discrete brain regions has been one of the most important advances in behavioral neuroscience. A wealth of studies have investigated the role of the hippocampus and related structures in supporting various types of memory classifications. While t...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Neurobiology of learning and memory 2004-11, Vol.82 (3), p.299-308
Main Authors: Matthews, Douglas B., Silvers, Janelle R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal
Animals
Biological and medical sciences
Caudate Nucleus - drug effects
Central Nervous System Depressants - pharmacology
Ethanol - pharmacology
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Hippocampus - drug effects
Humans
Learning. Memory
Maze Learning - drug effects
Memory
Memory - classification
Memory - drug effects
Mice
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Rats
Space Perception - drug effects
Spatial Behavior - drug effects
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The discovery of multiple memory systems supported by discrete brain regions has been one of the most important advances in behavioral neuroscience. A wealth of studies have investigated the role of the hippocampus and related structures in supporting various types of memory classifications. While the exact classification that best describes hippocampal function is often debated, a specific subset of cognitive function that is focused on the use of spatial information to form hippocampal cognitive maps has received extensive investigation. These studies frequently employ a variety of experimental manipulations including brain lesions, temporary neural blockade due to cooling or discrete injections of specific drugs. While these studies have provided important insights into the function of the hippocampus, they are limited due to the invasive nature of the manipulation. Ethanol is a drug that is easily administered in a non-invasive fashion, is rapidly absorbed and produces effects only in specific brain regions. The hippocampus is one brain region affected by acute ethanol administration. The following review summarizes research from the last 20 years investigating the effects of acute ethanol administration on one specific type of hippocampal cognitive function, namely spatial memory. It is proposed that among its many effects, one specific action of acute ethanol administration is to produce similar cognitive and neurophysiological effects as lesions of the hippocampus. Based on these similarities and the ease of its use, it is concluded that acute ethanol administration is a valuable tool in studying hippocampal function and multiple memory systems.
ISSN:1074-7427
1095-9564
DOI:10.1016/j.nlm.2004.06.007