Distinct medial temporal lobe network states as neural contexts for motivated memory formation

In this chapter we examine how motivation creates a neural context for learning by dynamically engaging medial temporal lobe (MTL) systems. We review findings demonstrating that distinct modulatory networks, centered on the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and amygdala, are coherently recruited during specific motivational states and shunt encoding to hippocampal versus cortical MTL systems during learning. We posit that these shifts in encoding substrate serve to tailor both the content and form of memory representations, and speculate that these different representations support current and future adaptive behavior.

Duke Scholars

Author Rachel Alison Adcock Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Behavioral Medicine & Neur ...