Robert J. McDonald

Reversible inhibition of medial septum interneurons abolishes initial acquisition of new place-reward associations and reveals a progressive reduction in dependence on medial septal function

This study shows that reversible inhibition of medial septum interneurons impairs initial learning of new place-reward associations but not long-term retention, suggesting a shift from hippocampus-dependent to non-hippocampus-dependent spatial strategies.

Circadian rhythm disruption alters rhythmic properties of clock and memory gene expression in the hippocampi of rats

This study shows that circadian disruption in rats alters the rhythmic expression of clock and memory genes in the hippocampus without changing overall expression levels.

Sparsity of population activity in the hippocampus is task-invariant across the trisynaptic circuit and dorsoventral axis

The paper quantifies activity sparsity in the rat hippocampus during two memory tasks and finds it is task-invariant across the trisynaptic circuit and dorsoventral axis.

A melancholy machine: simulated synapse loss induces depression-like behaviors in deep reinforcement learning

This paper simulates dendritic spine loss in a deep reinforcement learning agent, inducing depression-like behaviors and suggesting that MDD may result from reduced brain connectivity rather than monoamine imbalances.

Gradual cerebral hypoperfusion in a knock-in mouse model of Alzheimer's disease triggers cortical network dysfunctions

This study shows that gradual cerebral hypoperfusion in AD mouse models causes cortical network dysfunctions and microgliosis, with distinct effects in wild-type and AD mice.

Behaviour-driven Arc expression is greater in dorsal than ventral CA1 regardless of task or sex differences.

The paper shows greater Arc expression in dorsal than ventral CA1 across tasks and sexes, supporting the granularity hypothesis over the cognitive function hypothesis.

Gradual Cerebral Hypoperfusion Impair Fear Conditioning and Object Recognition Learning and Memory in Mice: Potential Roles of Neurodegeneration and Cholinergic Dysfunction

This study shows that gradual cerebral hypoperfusion in mice impairs learning and memory, with evidence of cholinergic dysfunction and neurodegeneration.

A variant of the Morris water task for assessing learning and memory processes in mice

This paper introduces a 3-phase variant of the Morris water task to assess old and new spatial memories in mice, showing that AppNL-G-F/NL-G-F mice have impaired retention of old locations compared to C57BL/6 mice.