"If you tell the truth you don't have to remember anything." ~Mark Twain

Hannula, Debbie

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Though it is generally agreed that structures in the medial temporal lobes (MTL) are critical for long-term declarative (or relational) memory, less is known about the time course of relational memory retrieval, and the functional contributions of different MTL structures to relational and item memory. Questions also remain about whether or not MTL structures contribute to performance on short-term or working memory tasks, especially when memory for inter-item relationships is tested. To explore these issues I use converging behavioral, eye movement, and imaging (ERP and fMRI) methods in experiments conducted with neurologically intact individuals and amnesic patients with MTL damage.

My most recent work concerns whether or not MTL structures, particularly the hippocampus, might support performance on tasks that require short-term maintenance and manipulation of relational information. In past work, I have observed relational memory impairments even at very short delays in amnesic patients with hippocampal damage, suggesting that the hippocampus does indeed contribute to performance on working memory tasks under some circumstances. In collaboration with Dr. Ranganath, I am currently conducting fMRI investigations to explore the circumstances in which hippocampal activity predicts performance on working memory tasks.

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