Project 467166

Declarative memory (DM) is a multidimensional cognitive process involving our ability to encode, store, and retrieve both personal information (i.e., I visited New York last year) and general knowledge (i.e., Ottawa is the capital of Canada). DM-related dysfunctions characterize a number of pervasive and highly debilitating mental conditions, including major depression, a disease affecting 5% of Canadians each year. DM is mediated in part by the action of the brains serotonergic (5-HT) system, implicating regions of the medial temporal lobe (MTL), the primary neurobiological substrate of DM. Importantly, the 5-HT system and structures of the MTL are intimately involved in the development and course of mood disorders. Given the resurgence of interest in the therapeutic potential of psychedelics, the present study seeks to elucidate lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD)s effects on declarative memory and regions of the MTL in mice using memory testing paradigms, in vivo electrophysiology, microiontophoresis, and Golgi staining. This study will provide critical bench-to-bedside evidence concerning the memory-promoting effects and therapeutic efficacy of LSD in the treatment of psychiatric disorders involving DM-related impairments, making way for a fuller behavioural and cellular characterization not only of LSDs effects on memory, but also MTL circuitry broadly.