Stephanie L. Grella

Artificial Reactivation of a Cocaine-Associated Ensembles in the Dorsal Dentate Gyrus Attenuates Cocaine Prime-Induced Reinstatement of Drug-Seeking

This study shows that reactivating specific cocaine-associated memories in the dorsal dentate gyrus can reduce cocaine-induced reinstatement of drug-seeking behavior, with effects varying by the stage of drug exposure.

Chemogenetic Inhibition of the Ventrolateral Orbitofrontal Cortex Disrupts Novelty-Guided Updating of Spatial Memories and Alters Hippocampal Engram Reactivation

This study shows that ventrolateral orbitofrontal cortex activity is required for updating spatial memories when new information is present, as evidenced by behavioral and hippocampal ensemble impairments.

Reactivating Hippocampal-Mediated Memories During Reconsolidation to Disrupt Fear

The paper shows that reactivating positive memories during fear memory recall reduces conditioned fear in mice, suggesting a method to disrupt negative affective states through memory updating.

Hippocampus and amygdala fear memory engrams re-emerge after contextual fear relapse

Hippocampal cells multiplex positive and negative engrams

The paper identifies distinct cell populations in the ventral hippocampus that encode appetitive and aversive memories, showing molecular, cellular, and projection-specific differences.

Chronic activation of fear engrams induces extinction-like behavior in ethanol-exposed mice

This study shows that optogenetic reactivation of fear engrams in ethanol-exposed mice reduces fear responses, mimicking extinction, despite impaired extinction learning.

Chronic optogenetic stimulation of hippocampal engrams variably modulates social behaviors in mice

This study shows chronic optogenetic stimulation of hippocampal engrams in male mice enhances specific social behaviors but not others, with no detectable changes in neural activity markers.

Odor Modulates the Temporal Dynamics of Fear Memory Consolidation

This study shows that odor can delay the de-contextualization of fear memories, maintaining hippocampal dependence even at remote time points.