UC San Diego Human Memory Laboratory

The UC San Diego Human Memory Laboratory uses functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to study memory processes in volunteers with healthy memory and in patients with memory difficulties, such as in Alzheimer's disease (AD). This research focuses upon the medial temporal lobe (MTL), which shows selective damage early in the course of AD.

Goal of Our Work

The laboratory studies the contributions to memory that are made by distinct MTL substructures and the interaction of these structures with other brain regions. The overall goal of the work is to understand how the different parts of the brain work together to make and retrieve memories. In the process, we hope to develop imaging techniques that can measure the location and severity of brain damage in diseases of memory impairment, thus offering improved diagnosis and treatment to patients with memory difficulties.