Scott F. Owen

sfowen @ stanford.edu

Graduate Student

AB, Amherst College, Amherst, MA

I am interested in how individual neurons and networks of cells function to store memories and process information in the brain. Combining molecular techniques with electrophysiological recordings, I am developing a novel method to study the role of post-synaptic LTP in individual cells during in vivo memory formation. Primarily I hope to address the degree to which an individual cell functions autonomously to take its place in the formation of a memory. The hippocampus, whose tri-synaptic circuit has been characterized in vitro, and whose electrical activity shows remarkably structured activity correlating to freely exploring behavior in vivo, presents an intriguing system to begin to approach these questions.