Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

The primary goal of my research is to determine how the brain changes physically when we learn or form memories. It is widely accepted that the lasting brain changes associated with processes such as learning involve the alteration of synapses. Synapses, which are small gaps that form the connections between brain cells (neurons), are known to change in number, size, and complexity following various forms of brain stimulation and learning. The focus of this proposal involves an extensive examination of the brain changes that occur following fear conditioning and maternal behaviour in the rat brain. Another line of research will investigate changes associated with learning impairments in fish taken from polluted northern Ontario lakes. The anticipated outcomes of these projects include a detailed description of synaptic change following two powerful forms of learning and a determination of the brain mechanism that impairs scent based learning in fish from polluted lakes. While the research on fear conditioning and maternal behaviour will certainly be of great interest to other neuroscientists and psychologists, these results may also apply to the wider medical community.  For example, the brain changes that underlie human maternal behavour, while certainly more complex than in the rat, may have a common evolutionary basis.  Further, the mechanisms underlying fear conditioning in the rat brain may help predict human brain changes associated with the development of anxiety disorders and phobias. The proposed research on fish from polluted lakes will improve our understanding of how pollutants affect learning and sensation in these fish populations. This knowledge may help predict and potentially enhance survival rates of these fish.  This work is important and will benefit the field of behavioural neuroscience and Canada as a whole.