Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews
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Neurosci Biobehav Rev · Jan 2005
Review Meta AnalysisMeta-analysis of sex differences in rodent models of learning and memory: a review of behavioral and biological data.
The existence of sex differences in the standard rat and mouse models of learning and memory is a controversial and contested topic in the literature. The present meta-analysis of radial maze and water maze experiments was conducted to assess the reliablility and magnitude of sex effects in the standard rodent models of learning and memory. Data were culled from published and unpublished sources. ⋯ Together these findings establish the reliability of male advantages in spatial working and reference memory for rats across strains, protocols, ages and rearing environments. The findings also support an important species dichotomy between rats and mice that should be considered when transitioning from rat to mouse models. In light of these results, the biological evidence supporting theoretical explanations of sex differences is reviewed and evaluated.
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Neurosci Biobehav Rev · Jan 2005
ReviewFunctional connectivity in the brain--is it an elusive concept?
Even though functional brain connectivity is an influential concept in modern cognitive neuroscience, it is a very controversial notion. This is why further theoretical and methodological clarification are needed to help define precisely what is meant by functional connectivity and to help frame-associated issues. ⋯ Here functional connectivity is the mechanism for the coordination of activity between different neural assemblies in order to achieve a complex cognitive task or perceptual process. Our theoretical and empirical findings offer new insights into possible implications of the concept of functional connectivity for cognitive neuroscience.
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Neurosci Biobehav Rev · Jan 2005
Review Biography Historical ArticleDonald O. Hebb's synapse and learning rule: a history and commentary.
This year sees the anniversary of Donald O. Hebb's birth, in July 1904. ⋯ His core postulate, which gave rise to such eponymous expressions as the Hebbian synapse and the Hebbian learning rule, is examined in some detail, as well as the part it played in his higher-order theoretical constructs concerned with neocortical structure and function. Early models which made use of the Hebbian synapse are described, and then illustrative examples are given detailing the impact of Hebb's idea in relation to learning and memory, synaptic plasticity and stability, and the question of persistent cortical activity underlying forms of short-term memory.