University of California, San Diego
The Department of Psychology is Honored
to Present a Talk by
Barbara Knowlton
University of California, Los Angeles
"Habit Learning and the Basal Ganglia"
Presented on October 30, 2003
Location: The Crick Conference Room
McGill Hall Annex, room 3545
- Abstract:
- A wealth of behavioral and neuroscientific evidence supports the idea
that memory is composed of different systems that depend on different
brain structures. An important challenge in memory research is to
describe these memory systems in terms of their behavioral
properties. In this talk I will contrast declarative memories, which
depend on medial temporal lobe structures such as the hippocampus,
and habits, which depend on the basal ganglia. A distinct feature of
habits is that they are represented as stimulus-response associations
in which the consequences of actions are not represented. I will
discuss the implications of habit learning deficits in the context of
basal ganglia disorders such as Parkinson's Disease.
- About the Speaker:
- The focus of our lab is the study of the neural bases of memory. We use a number of different approaches in humans and animal models in order to describe functional differences between memory systems and the brain systems that support them. We are also studying the neural basis of executive function by testing neuropsychological patients.
For More Information About This Speaker:
- http://www.psych.ucla.edu/Faculty/faculty.php?id=9&area=1
Dr. Knowlton's Webpage.
- http://www.psych.ucla.edu/download.php?id=16
A list of Dr. Knowlton's publications. (PDF file.)
