Caltech Professor Receives Award for Research into Mechanisms of Memory Formation

PASADENA, Calif.— How do we form short-term and long-term memories in the brain? A California Institute of Technology professor will try to answer this question and others. Athanassios Siapas, assistant professor of computation and neural systems, has been awarded a $445,120 grant by the James S. McDonnell Foundation for his project "Network Mechanisms of Memory Formation."

The establishment of long-term memories is a gradual process that involves intricate interactions across distributed networks of neurons in the brain. Until recently, the direct experimental observation of such interactions was not technically feasible. Using techniques that enable monitoring of the simultaneous activity of large numbers of single neurons across multiple brain areas, Siapas's research group will study the mechanisms that orchestrate memory formation in distributed brain circuits.

Understanding the fundamental principles that underlie memory formation and learning may offer insights into neurological disorders that affect memory, such as Alzheimer's disease, and may aid in finding a cure for such debilitating illnesses.

Siapas joined Caltech in January 2002, after conducting postdoctoral work at the Center for Learning and Memory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Siapas also earned his PhD from MIT.

Founded in 1950 by aerospace pioneer James S. McDonnell, the James S. McDonnell Foundation was established to improve the quality of life, and has done so by contributing to the generation of new knowledge through its support of research and scholarship. In 2002 the foundation awarded approximately $16 million in grants. Since its inception, the McDonnell Foundation has awarded over $264 million in grants.

Contact: Deborah Williams-Hedges (626) 395-3227 debwms@caltech.edu

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