Animals show a natural tendency to explore novel, as opposed to familiar, stimuli, suggesting an underlying memory process in regard to previously encoded information. Dependent on this tendency, spontaneous object exploration paradigms have been developed in animals to measure memory processes regarding what an object is, where an object is located, when an object is present, the association of an object and its location, in which context an object is shown and an episodic context of the combined “what-where-when” components. These paradigms feature in the absence of extensive training and reward or aversive incentives, analogous to incidental encoding of daily memory. The application of these object exploration tests is broad and covers many fields, such as behavioral neuroscience, psychopharmacology and the neurobiology of recognition memory across species. The medial prefrontal cortex, parietal cortex and medial temporal lobe (the hippocampus, entorhinal cortex, perirhinal cortex and parahippocampal cortex) are the main neuroanatomical structures that are considered to underlie recognition memory. However, the retrosplenial cortex, insular cortex, anterior thalamus, nucleus reuniens of thalamus, striatum and amygdala are also considered to play a part. As well, recent findings also indicate that the lateral hypothalamus, interpeduncular nucleus and cerebellum contribute to recognition memory under certain conditions. Neurotransmitter systems actively mediate and orchestrate the neuronal communication between these structures during the processing of learning and memory. An entire picture of the neuroanatomy and neurobiology of recognition memory will, however, require multidisciplinary approaches of imaging, lesion, pharmacology, optogenetics, chemogenetics and behavioral studies. Recognition memory deficits are also major symptoms in multiple neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders, such as schizophrenia, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, autism spectrum disorder, Parkinson’s disease, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Although the etiology of the shared memory deficits is not fully understood, it may be associated with environmental, pharmacological and genetic factors that are commonly exposed to these disorders. Spontaneous object exploration paradigms with minimal involvement of emotional valences are appropriate in the study of neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders as these disorders may sensitize one to emotional stimuli, leading to a deficit in recognition memory. Given the impact of these disorders and their memory deficits on our society there is a strong need to understand the underlying mechanisms and development of innovative pharmaceuticals and gene therapeutics.

Handbook of Object Novelty Recognition, Volume 26, synthesizes the empirical and theoretical advances in the field of object recognition and memory that have occurred since the development of the spontaneous object recognition task. The book is divided into four sections, covering vision and perception of object features and attributions, definitions of concepts that are associated with object recognition, the influence of brain lesions and drugs on various memory functions and processes, and models of neuropsychiatric disorders based on spontaneous object recognition tasks. A final section covers genetic and developmental studies and gender and hormone studies. - Details the brain structures and the neural circuits that underlie memory of objects, including vision and olfaction - Provides a thorough description of the object novelty recognition task, variations on the basic task, and methods and techniques to help researchers avoid common pitfalls - Assists researchers in understanding all aspects of object memory, conducting object novelty recognition tests, and producing reliable, reproducible results

A comprehensive, multidisciplinary review, Neural Plasticity and Memory: From Genes to Brain Imaging provides an in-depth, up-to-date analysis of the study of the neurobiology of memory. Leading specialists share their scientific experience in the field, covering a wide range of topics where molecular, genetic, behavioral, and brain imaging techniq

This book represents a unique and elaborate exposition of the neural organization of language, memory, and spatial perception in a wide variety of species including humans, bees, fish, rodents, and monkeys. The editors have united the comparative approach with its emphasis on evolutionary determinants of behavior, the neurobiological approach with its emphasis on the neural determinants of behavior, and the cognitive approach with its emphasis on understanding higher-order mental functions. The combination of these three approaches provides an unusual look at the neurobiology of comparative cognition, and should stimulate increased investigations in this field and related disciplines.

Written by leading researchers in educational and social psychology, learning science, and neuroscience, this edited volume is suitable for a wide-academic readership. It gives definitions of key terms related to motivation and learning alongside developed explanations of significant findings in the field. It also presents cohesive descriptions concerning how motivation relates to learning, and produces a novel and insightful combination of issues and findings from studies of motivation and/or learning across the authors' collective range of scientific fields. The authors provide a variety of perspectives on motivational constructs and their measurement, which can be used by multiple and distinct scientific communities, both basic and applied.

Using the most well-studied behavioral analyses of animal subjects to promote a better understanding of the effects of disease and the effects of new therapeutic treatments on human cognition, Methods of Behavior Analysis in Neuroscience provides a reference manual for molecular and cellular research scientists in both academia and the pharmaceutic

Provides an introduction to the neural network modeling of complex cognitive and neuropsychological processes. Over the past few years, computer modeling has become more prevalent in the clinical sciences as an alternative to traditional symbol-processing models. This book provides an introduction to the neural network modeling of complex cognitive and neuropsychological processes. It is intended to make the neural network approach accessible to practicing neuropsychologists, psychologists, neurologists, and psychiatrists. It will also be a useful resource for computer scientists, mathematicians, and interdisciplinary cognitive neuroscientists. The editors (in their introduction) and contributors explain the basic concepts behind modeling and avoid the use of high-level mathematics. The book is divided into four parts. Part I provides an extensive but basic overview of neural network modeling, including its history, present, and future trends. It also includes chapters on attention, memory, and primate studies. Part II discusses neural network models of behavioral states such as alcohol dependence, learned helplessness, depression, and waking and sleeping. Part III presents neural network models of neuropsychological tests such as the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task, the Tower of Hanoi, and the Stroop Test. Finally, part IV describes the application of neural network models to dementia: models of acetycholine and memory, verbal fluency, Parkinsons disease, and Alzheimer's disease. Contributors J. Wesson Ashford, Rajendra D. Badgaiyan, Jean P. Banquet, Yves Burnod, Nelson Butters, John Cardoso, Agnes S. Chan, Jean-Pierre Changeux, Kerry L. Coburn, Jonathan D. Cohen, Laurent Cohen, Jose L. Contreras-Vidal, Antonio R. Damasio, Hanna Damasio, Stanislas Dehaene, Martha J. Farah, Joaquin M. Fuster, Philippe Gaussier, Angelika Gissler, Dylan G. Harwood, Michael E. Hasselmo, J, Allan Hobson, Sam Leven, Daniel S. Levine, Debra L. Long, Roderick K. Mahurin, Raymond L. Ownby, Randolph W. Parks, Michael I. Posner, David P. Salmon, David Servan-Schreiber, Chantal E. Stern, Jeffrey P. Sutton, Lynette J. Tippett, Daniel Tranel, Bradley Wyble