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Memory in Health and Disease: From basic mechanisms to clinical implications
| Third-party funded project |
| Project title |
Memory in Health and Disease: From basic mechanisms to clinical implications |
| Principal Investigator(s) |
de Quervain, Dominique
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| Organisation / Research unit |
Bereich Psychiatrie (Klinik) / Kognitive Neurowissenschaften (de Quervain) |
| Project start |
01.03.2009 |
| Probable end |
29.02.2012 |
| Status |
Completed |
| Abstract |
In the present project, I will further investigate the memory modulatory effects of glucocorticoids in health and disease and aim to identify and characterize novel memory-related genes in humans. Glucocorticoids and memory: We have previously reported that glucocorticoids can inhibit memory retrieval in animals and healthy humans. While elevated glucocorticoid levels are detrimental when information should be retrieved (e.g. during exams), they may actually have beneficial effects in conditions when memory retrieval is distressing or maladaptive. Indeed, our recent studies provide first evidence that the administration of glucocorticoids reduces retrieval of traumatic memories in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and fear memory in phobias. Moreover, our data suggest that glucocorticoids promote the extinction of such aversive memories. In the present project I aim to further investigate the role of glucocorticoids in the treatment of anxiety disorders. Genes and memory: Studies in twins revealed a roughly 50% heritable component for human memory capacity, indicating that naturally occurring genetic variations have an important impact on this cognitive ability. Both in candidate gene studies and in pooling-based genome-wide screens, we have identified several genes related to human memory. Furthermore, we were able to characterize the identified genes with functional imaging techniques (fMRI). Currently, we are running an individual genome-wide screen with 1.8 million genetic markers in our population of 350 healthy human subjects and we expect a large number of highly significant signals. The identification and characterization of novel memory-related genes in humans will help to better understand the genetic basis and molecular mechanisms of human memory and will ultimately promote the targeted treatment of memory disorders. |
| Financed by |
Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF)
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20/04/2024
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