# Biology of memory

> **NIH NIH R35** · SCRIPPS FLORIDA · 2022 · $123,565

## Abstract

Project Summary
This proposal is for a long-term and flexible research program designed to obtain key insights into the biology
of learning and memory. Although flexibility is inherent in its design, such that novel observations made over
the course of the research can and will be pursued without delay, the program is grounded in three major lines
of research: (1) the molecular, cellular, and systems neuroscience that underlie the process of active
forgetting, (2) the logic by which the brain organizes different types of olfactory memories among its
component neurons, and (3) the identification and characterization of protein-coding and microRNA genes that
function to suppress the process of memory formation. The active forgetting component stems from the recent
identification of a signaling system that removes previously formed memories and is modulated by internal
states of arousal and sleep, and by external sensory stimulation. This represents an unstudied area in the
neuroscience of memory formation and offers tremendous opportunities for discovery in the molecular biology
and systems neuroscience of the process. The second component is founded on innovative discoveries that
allow the visualization of cellular memory traces – changes in the response properties of neurons due to
learning – that offer a window into the logic behind how memories are organized in the brain. This component
contrasts, as one example, how the brain organizes olfactory memories learned in association with a rewarding
cue and those learned in association with an aversive cue, and delves into the underlying mechanisms. The
third component derives from recent genetic screens that have provided a plethora of new genes, both protein-
coding and microRNA-coding, which enhance memory when suppressed, thus representing new memory
suppressor genes. The proposed behavioral, functional cellular imaging, and molecular genetic experiments
will dissect the roles for these genes in different temporal forms of memory: short-, intermediate-, and long-
term memory; as well as different operational phases of memory formation: acquisition, memory stability, or
forgetting. The results will offer an unprecedented view of the constraints the brain uses to limit memory
formation. There is a rich medical importance to this research given the well-documented problems of cognition
associated with numerous neurological and psychiatric disorders.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10312103
- **Project number:** 5R35NS097224-06
- **Recipient organization:** SCRIPPS FLORIDA
- **Principal Investigator:** Ronald L Davis
- **Activity code:** R35 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $123,565
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2016-12-01 → 2022-04-01

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10312103

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10312103, Biology of memory (5R35NS097224-06). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10312103. Licensed CC0.

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