# Neural mechanisms for the genesis of conceptual information

> **NIH NIH K08** · NEW YORK STATE PSYCHIATRIC INSTITUTE DBA RESEARCH FOUNDATION FOR MENTAL HYGIENE, INC · 2020 · $199,800

## Abstract

Memories and their emotional meaning can be the root-cause of many psychiatric diseases. For
example, post-traumatic stress disorder is a quintessential `memory illness;' intrusive emotional
memories constitute a core symptom that leads to intense and prolonged distress, nightmares,
and flashbacks. But other psychiatric disorders, such as depression, present memory
impairment: events are preferentially remembered as negative, or negative memories are
preferentially accessible to recall. Humans are capable of high-level associative processes and
abstract thinking. We form memories not only of objects but also most importantly of situations,
feelings, and concepts or rules that are not necessarily sensory driven. Understanding how
these types of thought processes are generated and organized in memories is key to the
understanding of human cognition. The goal of the proposed research is to explore
neurophysiological underpinning of conceptual memory formation and the emotional
associations embedded within these conceptual memories. As two macaque monkeys learn a
reversal learning task and abstract rules from it, we will record neuronal activity in hippocampus,
rhinal cortices, and amygdala (Aim 1). Preliminary data shown in this grant support the
involvement of these areas in the process of generation of conceptual memories. We will test
the hypothesis that the temporal contiguity of events leads to a process of abstraction that
underlies the formation of representations of conceptual memories (Aim 1). This hypothesis will
be tested during concept formation by using analytic techniques to distinguish between the
contributions of neural signals that represent the memory of events from signals that reflect a
process of abstraction that generates a representation of a concept. Finally, we will use a
chemogenetic approach (DREADDS) to silence rhinal cortices while recording in HPC and the
amygdala. We will test the hypothesis that rhinal cortex input is necessary for the process of
abstraction observed in HPC and amygdala (Aim 2). These mechanistic studies promise to
provide opportunities for collaborative studies in the future that will connect this work to studies
in humans, including patient populations, to understand interactions between conceptual
memory formation and emotions.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9941146
- **Project number:** 5K08MH115365-03
- **Recipient organization:** NEW YORK STATE PSYCHIATRIC INSTITUTE DBA RESEARCH FOUNDATION FOR MENTAL HYGIENE, INC
- **Principal Investigator:** Silvia Bernardi
- **Activity code:** K08 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $199,800
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-07-05 → 2022-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9941146

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9941146, Neural mechanisms for the genesis of conceptual information (5K08MH115365-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9941146. Licensed CC0.

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