Posts classified under: Learning and Memory

Stephanie White, Ph.D.

Biography

Social influences on learning and memory How do social interactions influence the brain? Our laboratory is interested in how social behaviors affect neuronal plasticity at sites responsible for learning in an Australian songbird, the zebra finch. We study song learning behavior that is essential for reproductive opportunity and is mediated by known neural circuitry. In zebra finches, both the learned behavior and its underlying neural structures are sexually dimorphic, and plasticity is greatest during critical developmental phases. Within a comparative framework, we use behavioral, electrophysiological, and molecular techniques to investigate how social interactions shape gene expression patterns, how these changes modulate neural circuit properties and ultimately, how this constellation of changes sculpts behavior.

Publications

A selected list of publications:

Fraley E R, Burkett Z D, Day N F, Schwartz B A, Phelps P E, White S A   Mice with Dab1 or Vldlr insufficiency exhibit abnormal neonatal vocalization patterns Scientific reports, 2016; 6(3): 25807.
Berg Jamee M, Lee Changhoon, Chen Leslie, Galvan Laurie, Cepeda Carlos, Chen Jane Y, Peñagarikano Olga, Stein Jason L, Li Alvin, Oguro-Ando Asami, Miller Jeremy A, Vashisht Ajay A, Starks Mary E, Kite Elyse P, Tam Eric, Gdalyahu Amos, Al-Sharif Noor B, Burkett Zachary D, White Stephanie A, Fears Scott C, Levine Michael S, Wohlschlegel James A, Geschwind Daniel H   JAKMIP1, a Novel Regulator of Neuronal Translation, Modulates Synaptic Function and Autistic-like Behaviors in Mouse Neuron, 2015; 88(6): 1173-91.
Miller Julie E, Hafzalla George W, Burkett Zachary D, Fox Cynthia M, White Stephanie A   Reduced vocal variability in a zebra finch model of dopamine depletion: implications for Parkinson disease Physiological reports, 2015; 3(11): .
Whitney Osceola, Voyles Tawni, Hara Erina, Chen Qianqian, White Stephanie A, Wright Timothy F   Differential FoxP2 and FoxP1 expression in a vocal learning nucleus of the developing budgerigar Developmental neurobiology, 2015; 75(7): 778-90.
Burkett Zachary D, Day Nancy F, Peñagarikano Olga, Geschwind Daniel H, White Stephanie A   VoICE: A semi-automated pipeline for standardizing vocal analysis across models Scientific reports, 2015; 5(7): 10237.
Hara Erina, Perez Jemima M, Whitney Osceola, Chen Qianqian, White Stephanie A, Wright Timothy F   Neural FoxP2 and FoxP1 expression in the budgerigar, an avian species with adult vocal learning Behavioural brain research, 2015; 283(7): 22-9.
Heston Jonathan B, White Stephanie A   Behavior-linked FoxP2 regulation enables zebra finch vocal learning The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 2015; 35(7): 2885-94.
Condro Michael C, White Stephanie A   Recent Advances in the Genetics of Vocal Learning Comparative cognition & behavior reviews, 2014; 9(2): 75-98.
Grant Laura M, Richter Franziska, Miller Julie E, White Stephanie A, Fox Cynthia M, Zhu Chunni, Chesselet Marie-Francoise, Ciucci Michelle R   Vocalization deficits in mice over-expressing alpha-synuclein, a model of pre-manifest Parkinson’s disease Behavioral neuroscience, 2014; 128(2): 110-21.
Condro Michael C, White Stephanie A   Distribution of language-related Cntnap2 protein in neural circuits critical for vocal learning The Journal of comparative neurology, 2014; 522(1): 169-85.
Chen Qianqian, Heston Jonathan B, Burkett Zachary D, White Stephanie A   Expression analysis of the speech-related genes FoxP1 and FoxP2 and their relation to singing behavior in two songbird species The Journal of experimental biology, 2013; 216(Pt 19): 3682-92.
White, SA   FoxP2 and vocalization, in ‘New Perspectives on the Origins of Language’, 2013; 144: 211-235.
Hilliard AT, Miller JE, Horvath S & White SA   Distinct neurogenomic states in basal ganglia subregions relate differently to singing behavior in songbirds, PLoS Computational Biology, 2012; 8: e1002773.
*Hilliard AT, *Miller JE, Fraley ER, Horvath S, White SA   Molecular microcircuitry underlies functional specification in a basal ganglia circuit dedicated to vocal learning, Neuron, 2012; 73: 537-552.
White Stephanie A   Genes and vocal learning Brain and language, 2010; 115(1): 21-8.
Panaitof SC, Abrahams BS, Dong H, Geschwind DH & White SA   Language-related Cntnap2 is differentially expressed in sexually dimorphic nuclei essential for vocal learning in songbirds, Journal of Comparative Neurology, 2010; .
Miller Julie E, Hilliard Austin T, White Stephanie A   Song practice promotes acute vocal variability at a key stage of sensorimotor learning PloS one, 2010; 5(1): e8592.
Teramitsu Ikuko, Poopatanapong Amy, Torrisi Salvatore, White Stephanie A   Striatal FoxP2 is actively regulated during songbird sensorimotor learning PloS one, 2010; 5(1): e8548.
Hilliard AT & White SA   Evolutionary Precursors of Syntax, Biological Foundations and Origin of Syntax, edited by Derek Bickerton and Eörs Szathmáry; Strüngmann Forum Reports, 2009; 3: 161-182.
Számadö S, Bishop D, d’Errico, F, Fischer J, Hurford J, Okanoya K, Szathmáry E & White SA   What are the possible biological and genetic foundations for syntactic phenomena?, Biological Foundations and Origin of Syntax, edited by Derek Bickerton and Eörs Szathmáry; Strüngmann Forum Reports, 2009; 3: 207-236.
Spence RD, Zhen Y, White S, Schlinger BA, Day LB   Recovery of motor and cognitive function after cerebellar lesions in a songbird: role of estrogens The European Journal of Neuroscience, 2009; 29(6): 1225-34.
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Miller Julie E, Spiteri Elizabeth, Condro Michael C, Dosumu-Johnson Ryan T, Geschwind Daniel H, White Stephanie A   Birdsong decreases protein levels of FoxP2, a molecule required for human speech Journal of Neurophysiology, 2008; 100(4): 2015-25.
Teramitsu Ikuko, White Stephanie A   Motor learning: the FoxP2 puzzle piece Current Biology, 2008; 18(8): R335-7.
JE Miller & SA White   The sleeping bird gets the song, Journal of Neurophysiology, 2007; 98: 3-4.
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White Stephanie A, Fisher Simon E, Geschwind Daniel H, Scharff Constance, Holy Timothy E   Singing mice, songbirds, and more: models for FOXP2 function and dysfunction in human speech and language The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 2006; 26(41): 10376-9.
Teramitsu Ikuko, White Stephanie A   FoxP2 regulation during undirected singing in adult songbirds The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 2006; 26(28): 7390-4.
Wada K, Howard J, McDonnell P, Lints T, Rivas MV, Whitney O, Horita H, Patterson M, White SA,Scharff C, Haesler S, Zhao S, Sakaguchi H, Hagiwara M, Shiraki T, Hirozane-Kishikawa T, Skene P, Hayashizaki Y, Carninci P& Jarvis ED   A molecular neuroethological approach for identifying and characterizing a cascade of behaviorally regulated genes PNAS, 2006; 103: 15212-15217.
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Teramitsu I & White SA   FoxP2 regulation during undirected singing in adult songbirds Journal of Neuroscience, 2006; 26: 7390-7394.
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White SA, Fisher SE, Geschwind DH, Scharff C, Holy TE   Singing mice, songbirds and more: models for FOXP2 function and dysfunction in human speech and language Journal of Neuroscience, 2006; 26: 10376-10379.
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Poopatanapong A, Teramitsu I, Byun JS,Vician LJ, Herschman HR, White SA   Singing, but not seizure, induces Synaptotagmin IV in zebra finch song nuclei Journal of Neurobiology, 2006; 66: 1613-1629.
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The Avian Brain Nomenclature Consortium   Avian brains and a paradigm shift in understanding vertebrate brain evolution, Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 2005; 6: 151-159.
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Nilson Paige Crystal, Teramitsu Ikuko, White Stephanie Ann   Caudal thoracic air sac cannulation in zebra finches for isoflurane anesthesia Journal of neuroscience methods, 2005; 143(2): 107-15.
Jarvis Erich D, Güntürkün Onur, Bruce Laura, Csillag András, Karten Harvey, Kuenzel Wayne, Medina Loreta, Paxinos George, Perkel David J, Shimizu Toru, Striedter Georg, Wild J Martin, Ball Gregory F, Dugas-Ford Jennifer, Durand Sarah E, Hough Gerald E, Husband Scott, Kubikova Lubica, Lee Diane W, Mello Claudio V, Powers Alice, Siang Connie, Smulders Tom V, Wada Kazuhiro, White Stephanie A, Yamamoto Keiko, Yu Jing, Reiner Anton, Butler Ann B, Butler Ann B   Avian brains and a new understanding of vertebrate brain evolution Nature reviews. Neuroscience, 2005; 6(2): 151-9.
Reiner A, Perkel D, Bruce L, Butler A, Csillag A, Kuenzel W, Medina L, Paxinos G, Powers A, Shimisu T, Striedter G, Wild M, Ball G, Durand S, Gunturkun O, Lee D, Mello C, White SA, Hough T, Kubikova L, Smulders T, Wada K, Dugas-Ford J, Husband S, Yamamoto K, Yu J, Siang C, Jarvis ED   Revised nomenclature for avian telencephalon and some related brain nuclei Journal of Comparative Neurology, 2004; 473: 377-414.
Scharff, C White, SA   Genetic components of vocal learning Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 2004; 1016: 325-47.
Teramitsu, I Kudo, LC London, SE Geschwind, DH White, SA   Parallel FoxP1 and FoxP2 expression in songbird and human brain predicts functional interaction The Journal of Neuroscience, 2004; 24(13): 3152-63.
Reiner Anton, Perkel David J, Bruce Laura L, Butler Ann B, Csillag András, Kuenzel Wayne, Medina Loreta, Paxinos George, Shimizu Toru, Striedter Georg, Wild Martin, Ball Gregory F, Durand Sarah, Gütürkün Onur, Lee Diane W, Mello Claudio V, Powers Alice, White Stephanie A, Hough Gerald, Kubikova Lubica, Smulders Tom V, Wada Kazuhiro, Dugas-Ford Jennifer, Husband Scott, Yamamoto Keiko, Yu Jing, Siang Connie, Jarvis Erich D   The Avian Brain Nomenclature Forum: Terminology for a New Century in Comparative Neuroanatomy The Journal of comparative neurology, 2004; 473(1): E1-E6.
White Stephanie A, Nguyen Tuan, Fernald Russell D   Social regulation of gonadotropin-releasing hormone The Journal of experimental biology, 2002; 205(Pt 17): 2567-81.
White SA   Learning to communicate Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 2001; 11: 510-520.
Livingston*FL, White*SA, & Mooney R   Slow NMDA-PSCs at synapses critical for song development are not required for song learning in zebra finches Nature Neuroscience, 2000; 3: 482-488.
White, SA Livingston, FS Mooney, R   Androgens modulate NMDA receptor-mediated EPSCs in the zebra finch song system Journal of Neurophysiology, 1999; 82(5): 2221-34.
White SA & Mooney R   Can an old bird change his tune? Current Biology, 1999; 9: R688-690.
Fernald RD & White SA   Social control of brains: from behavior to genes, The Cognitive Neurosciences, 1999; 2nd edition: 1193-1208.
Spiro, JE White, SA   Neuroethology: a meeting of brain and behavior Neuron, 1998; 21(5): 981-9.
White, SA Fernald, RD   Changing through doing: behavioral influences on the brain Recent progress in hormone research, 1997; 52: 455-73; discussion 473-4.
Fox* HE, White* SA, Kau MHF & Fernald RD   Stress and dominance in a social fish Journal of Neuroscience, 1997; 17: 6463-6469.
White, SA Kasten, TL Bond, CT Adelman, JP Fernald, RD   Three gonadotropin-releasing hormone genes in one organism suggest novel roles for an ancient peptide Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 1995; 92(18): 8363-7.
White SA & Fernald RD   Gonadotropin-releasing hormone-containing neurons change size with reproductive state in female Haplochromis burtoni, Journal of Neuroscience, 1993; 13: 434-441.

Kate Wassum, Ph.D.

Publications

A selected list of publications:

Wassum KM, Greenfield, VY, Linker KE, Maidment NT, Ostlund SB.   Inflated Reward Value in Early Opiate Withdrawal Addiction Biology, 2014; .
Tolosa VM, Wassum KM, Maidment NT, Monbouquette HG.   Electrochemically-deposited iridium oxide reference electrode integrated with an electroenzymatic glutamate sensor on a multi-electrode array microprobe, Biosensors and Bioelectronics, 2013; .
Wassum KM, Ostlund SB, Loewinger GC, Maidment NT.   Phasic mesolimbic dopamine release tracks reward seeking during expression of Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer, Biological Psychiatry, 2013; .
Wassum KM, Ostlund SB, Maidment NT.   Phasic mesolimbic dopamine signaling precedes and predicts performance of a self-initiated action sequence, Biological Psychiatry, 2012; .
Wassum KM, Tolosa VM, Tseng TC, Balleine BW, Monbouquette HG, Maidment NT.   Transient extracellular glutamate events in the basolateral amygdala track reward seeking actions, Journal of Neuroscience, 2012; .
Lichtenberg Nina T, Pennington Zachary T, Holley Sandra M, Greenfield Venuz Y, Cepeda Carlos, Levine Michael S, Wassum Kate M   Basolateral Amygdala to Orbitofrontal Cortex Projections Enable Cue-Triggered Reward Expectations The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 2017; 37(35): 8374-8384.
Hersman Sarah, Cushman Jesse, Lemelson Noah, Wassum Kate, Lotfipour Shahrdad, Fanselow Michael S   Optogenetic excitation of cholinergic inputs to hippocampus primes future contextual fear associations Scientific reports, 2017; 7(1): 2333.
Lichtenberg Nina T, Wassum Kate M   Amygdala mu-opioid receptors mediate the motivating influence of cue-triggered reward expectations The European journal of neuroscience, 2017; 45(3): 381-387.
Ostlund Sean B, Liu Angela T, Wassum Kate M, Maidment Nigel T   Modulation of cue-triggered reward seeking by cholinergic signaling in the dorsomedial striatum The European journal of neuroscience, 2017; 45(3): 358-364.
Collins Anne L, Aitken Tara J, Greenfield Venuz Y, Ostlund Sean B, Wassum Kate M   Nucleus Accumbens Acetylcholine Receptors Modulate Dopamine and Motivation Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, 2016; 41(12): 2830-2838.
Wassum Kate M, Greenfield Venuz Y, Linker Kay E, Maidment Nigel T, Ostlund Sean B   Inflated reward value in early opiate withdrawal Addiction biology, 2016; 21(2): 221-33.
Aitken Tara J, Greenfield Venuz Y, Wassum Kate M   Nucleus accumbens core dopamine signaling tracks the need-based motivational value of food-paired cues Journal of neurochemistry, 2016; 136(5): 1026-36.
Malvaez Melissa, Greenfield Venuz Y, Wang Alice S, Yorita Allison M, Feng Lili, Linker Kay E, Monbouquette Harold G, Wassum Kate M   Corrigendum: Basolateral amygdala rapid glutamate release encodes an outcome-specific representation vital for reward-predictive cues to selectively invigorate reward-seeking actions Scientific reports, 2016; 6(5): 20891.
Collins Anne L, Greenfield Venuz Y, Bye Jeffrey K, Linker Kay E, Wang Alice S, Wassum Kate M   Dynamic mesolimbic dopamine signaling during action sequence learning and expectation violation Scientific reports, 2016; 6(5): 20231.
Fanselow Michael S, Wassum Kate M   The Origins and Organization of Vertebrate Pavlovian Conditioning Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in biology, 2015; 8(1): a021717.
Malvaez Melissa, Greenfield Venuz Y, Wang Alice S, Yorita Allison M, Feng Lili, Linker Kay E, Monbouquette Harold G, Wassum Kate M   Basolateral amygdala rapid glutamate release encodes an outcome-specific representation vital for reward-predictive cues to selectively invigorate reward-seeking actions Scientific reports, 2015; 5: 12511.
Wassum Kate M, Izquierdo Alicia   The basolateral amygdala in reward learning and addiction Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews, 2015; .
Wassum Kate M, Phillips Paul E M   Probing the neurochemical correlates of motivation and decision making ACS chemical neuroscience, 2015; 6(1): 11-3.
Ostlund Sean B, LeBlanc Kimberly H, Kosheleff Alisa R, Wassum Kate M, Maidment Nigel T   Phasic mesolimbic dopamine signaling encodes the facilitation of incentive motivation produced by repeated cocaine exposure Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, 2014; 39(10): 2441-9.
Tolosa Vanessa M, Wassum Kate M, Maidment Nigel T, Monbouquette Harold G   Electrochemically deposited iridium oxide reference electrode integrated with an electroenzymatic glutamate sensor on a multi-electrode array microprobe Biosensors & bioelectronics, 2013; 42(8): 256-60.
Wassum Kate M, Ostlund Sean B, Loewinger Gabriel C, Maidment Nigel T   Phasic mesolimbic dopamine release tracks reward seeking during expression of Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer Biological psychiatry, 2013; 73(8): 747-55.
Wassum Kate M, Ostlund Sean B, Maidment Nigel T   Phasic mesolimbic dopamine signaling precedes and predicts performance of a self-initiated action sequence task Biological psychiatry, 2012; 71(10): 846-54.
Wassum Kate M, Tolosa Vanessa M, Tseng Tina C, Balleine Bernard W, Monbouquette Harold G, Maidment Nigel T   Transient extracellular glutamate events in the basolateral amygdala track reward-seeking actions The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 2012; 32(8): 2734-46.
Wassum Kate M, Ostlund Sean B, Balleine Bernard W, Maidment Nigel T   Differential dependence of Pavlovian incentive motivation and instrumental incentive learning processes on dopamine signaling Learning & memory (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.), 2011; 18(7): 475-83.
Wassum Kate M, Cely Ingrid C, Balleine Bernard W, Maidment Nigel T   Micro-opioid receptor activation in the basolateral amygdala mediates the learning of increases but not decreases in the incentive value of a food reward The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 2011; 31(5): 1591-9.
Ostlund Sean B, Wassum Kate M, Murphy Niall P, Balleine Bernard W, Maidment Nigel T   Extracellular dopamine levels in striatal subregions track shifts in motivation and response cost during instrumental conditioning The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 2011; 31(1): 200-7.
Wassum KM, Cely IC, Ostlund SB, Maidment NT, Balleine BW.   Disruption of endogenous opioid activity during instrumental learning enhances habit acquisition, Neuroscience, 2009; 163(3): 770-80.
Wassum KM, Ostlund SB, Maidment NT, Balleine BW.   Distinct opioid circuits determine the palatability and the desirability of rewarding events, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 2009; 106(30): 12512-7.
Wassum Kate M, Evans Christopher J   International Narcotics Research Conference – 39th Annual Meeting IDrugs : the investigational drugs journal, 2008; 11(9): 646-9.
Wassum Kate M, Tolosa Vanessa M, Wang Jianjun, Walker Eric, Monbouquette Harold G, Maidment Nigel T   Silicon Wafer-Based Platinum Microelectrode Array Biosensor for Near Real-Time Measurement of Glutamate in Vivo Sensors (Basel, Switzerland), 2008; 8(8): 5023-5036.
Wightman R Mark, Heien Michael L A V, Wassum Kate M, Sombers Leslie A, Aragona Brandon J, Khan Amina S, Ariansen Jennifer L, Cheer Joseph F, Phillips Paul E M, Carelli Regina M   Dopamine release is heterogeneous within microenvironments of the rat nucleus accumbens The European journal of neuroscience, 2007; 26(7): 2046-54.
Cheer Joseph F, Wassum Kate M, Sombers Leslie A, Heien Michael L A V, Ariansen Jennifer L, Aragona Brandon J, Phillips Paul E M, Wightman R Mark   Phasic dopamine release evoked by abused substances requires cannabinoid receptor activation The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 2007; 27(4): 791-5.
Cheer Joseph F, Wassum Kate M, Wightman R Mark   Cannabinoid modulation of electrically evoked pH and oxygen transients in the nucleus accumbens of awake rats Journal of neurochemistry, 2006; 97(4): 1145-54.
Heien Michael L A V, Khan Amina S, Ariansen Jennifer L, Cheer Joseph F, Phillips Paul E M, Wassum Kate M, Wightman R Mark   Real-time measurement of dopamine fluctuations after cocaine in the brain of behaving rats Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2005; 102(29): 10023-8.
Cheer Joseph F, Wassum Kate M, Heien Michael L A V, Phillips Paul E M, Wightman R Mark   Cannabinoids enhance subsecond dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens of awake rats The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 2004; 24(18): 4393-400.

Andrew Wikenheiser, Ph.D.

Biography

Our lab studies how neural representations support behaviors like decision making. We approach this question by recording the electrical activity of neurons as rats perform behavioral tasks. Electrophysiological techniques are augmented with optogenetics and computational analyses. Current projects are exploring how interactions between the hippocampus and the orbitofrontal cortex support decision making, the encoding of spatial goals, and the formation of neural representations for abstract stimulus spaces.

Publications

A selected list of publications:

Wikenheiser Andrew M, Marrero-Garcia Yasmin, Schoenbaum Geoffrey   Suppression of Ventral Hippocampal Output Impairs Integrated Orbitofrontal Encoding of Task Structure Neuron, 2017; 95(5): 1197-1207.e3.
Langdon Angela J, Wikenheiser Andrew M, Schoenbaum Geoffrey   Rat mPFC and M2 Play a Waiting Game (at Different Timescales) Neuron, 2017; 94(4): 700-702.
Sadacca Brian F, Wikenheiser Andrew M, Schoenbaum Geoffrey   Toward a theoretical role for tonic norepinephrine in the orbitofrontal cortex in facilitating flexible learning Neuroscience, 2017; 345(4): 124-129.
Wikenheiser Andrew M, Schoenbaum Geoffrey   Over the river, through the woods: cognitive maps in the hippocampus and orbitofrontal cortex Nature reviews. Neuroscience, 2016; 17(8): 513-23.
Sharpe Melissa J, Wikenheiser Andrew M, Niv Yael, Schoenbaum Geoffrey   The State of the Orbitofrontal Cortex Neuron, 2015; 88(6): 1075-1077.
Wikenheiser Andrew M, Redish A David   Decoding the cognitive map: ensemble hippocampal sequences and decision making Current opinion in neurobiology, 2015; 32(6): 8-15.
Wikenheiser Andrew M, Redish A David   Hippocampal theta sequences reflect current goals Nature neuroscience, 2015; 18(2): 289-94.
Wikenheiser Andrew M, Stephens David W, Redish A David   Subjective costs drive overly patient foraging strategies in rats on an intertemporal foraging task Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2013; 110(20): 8308-13.
Wikenheiser Andrew M, Redish A David   The balance of forward and backward hippocampal sequences shifts across behavioral states Hippocampus, 2013; 23(1): 22-9.
Wikenheiser Andrew M, Redish A David   Hippocampal sequences link past, present, and future Trends in cognitive sciences, 2012; 16(7): 361-2.
Wikenheiser Andrew M, Redish A David   Changes in reward contingency modulate the trial-to-trial variability of hippocampal place cells Journal of neurophysiology, 2011; 106(2): 589-98.