How do the medial septum and hippocampus interact in memory?
In another line of research, my lab members and I are investigating how chemical communication between two neural regions, the medial septum and the hippocampus, influences memory. Our findings show that neurochemical interactions between the septum and hippocampus during memory can be directly and effectively investigated by combining behavioral tests of learning and memory with simultaneous drug injections into both regions. We have shown, for example, that the effects of drugs injected into the medial septum on memory are often prevented by simultaneous infusions of other drugs into the hippocampus (Parent et al., 1997; Degroot& Parent, 2000, 2001, Krebs & Parent, 2005ab). These findings support the possibility that neurotransmitters in the septum influence memory, in part, by influencing the hippocampus. We have also combined in vivo microdialysis with site-specific drug injections and found that infusions of drugs into the medial septum influence a variety of neurotransmitters in
