# Testing and forecasting hippocampal theta wave propagation in learning and memory

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA · 2020 · $437,016

## Abstract

Title: Testing and forecasting hippocampal theta wave propagation in learning and memory
Abstract:
Psychiatric disease states are associated with profound deficits in cognition that can severely compromise
one's ability to live independently. In order to understand and effectively treat mental health disorders, it is
necessary to determine how the information that supports adaptive behaviors is relayed across large networks
of neurons. Brain rhythms, such as local field potential oscillations, have been hypothesized to organize neural
circuit processing on multiple timescales in order to coordinate thought and action. Moreover, abnormalities in
brain rhythms have been observed in humans afflicted with schizophrenia, autism, bipolar disorder, and a wide
array of other neurological diseases. Among the neural oscillations affected by psychiatric diseases is the
hippocampal theta rhythm, which is critical for learning and memory and is disrupted in schizophrenia and
anxiety disorders. Importantly, the theta oscillation has been found to propagate along the hippocampal
dorsoventral axis. Although the propagating theta wave has never been explicitly examined in the context of a
cognitive task, this traveling brain rhythm could serve the fundamental purpose of integrating information
across the hippocampus in support of learning and memory. The long-term goal of this research is to
determine how neurons act in concert to guide behavior and to develop novel therapeutic strategies for
normalizing brain rhythms in disease. The primary objective of the current proposal, which is the first step
toward attaining our long-term goal, is to determine the behavioral and cellular mechanisms that modulate
wave propagation, and to forecast oscillatory activity across brain regions. We will attain this by testing the
central hypothesis that the propagation of the theta oscillation, coordinated via septal and entorhinal
influences, can be described as a weakly nonlinear wave, altering its dynamics as a function of learning and
memory with the following specific aims: 1) Determine the influence of cognition and septal input on
hippocampal theta wave propagation, 2) Determine the influence of medial entorhinal input on hippocampal
theta wave propagation, and 3) Develop a nonlinear algorithm to forecast theta wave propagation. The
rationale is that this approach will uncover fundamental principles of wave propagation that will enable new
insight into neuronal coordination in the normal brain and mechanisms of dysfunction in neuropsychiatric
illness. This proposal is innovative because we will integrate cross-disciplinary theoretical and empirical
approaches to develop an integrated understanding of large-scale neuronal dynamics. The significance of this
contribution is an unprecedented understanding of activity propagation in the hippocampus during learning and
memory that will provide insights into the temporal coordination of information, developing the critical
founda...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9955362
- **Project number:** 5R01MH109548-05
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
- **Principal Investigator:** ANDREW Porter MAURER
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $437,016
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2016-09-09 → 2022-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9955362

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9955362, Testing and forecasting hippocampal theta wave propagation in learning and memory (5R01MH109548-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9955362. Licensed CC0.

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