The medial prefrontal cortex - hippocampus circuit that integrates information of object, place and time to construct episodic memory in rodents: Behavioral, anatomical and neurochemical properties
Journal
Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews
Series/Report No.
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
Journal Volume
113
Start Page
373-407
ISSN
0149-7634
Date Issued
2020-06
Author(s)
Abstract
Rats and mice have been demonstrated to show episodic-like memory, a prototype of episodic memory, as defined by an integrated memory of the experience of an object or event, in a particular place and time. Such memory can be assessed via the use of spontaneous object exploration paradigms, variably designed to measure memory for object, place, temporal order and object-location inter-relationships. We review the methodological properties of these tests, the neurobiology about time and discuss the evidence for the involvement of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), entorhinal cortex (EC) and hippocampus, with respect to their anatomy, neurotransmitter systems and functional circuits. The systematic analysis suggests that a specific circuit between the mPFC, lateral EC and hippocampus encodes the information for event, place and time of occurrence into the complex episodic-like memory, as a top-down regulation from the mPFC onto the hippocampus. This circuit can be distinguished from the neuronal component memory systems for processing the individual information of object, time and place.
Subjects
CA1
CA3
Entorhinal cortex
Episodic memory
Object recognition
Prefrontal cortex
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Type
journal article