About us
Research in the Stark
laboratory is concerned with the mechanisms that underlie
memory. The central question guiding research in the
lab is how is it that we learn and remember information
such that our past experiences influence our
behavior? Previous research has shown that it
is useful to divide long-term memory into two types of
memory. One type of memory, memory for facts and
events, (often called declarative or explicit memory)
requires structures in the medial temporal lobe such as the
hippocampus. The other type of memory, memory for
skills, habits and other unconscious forms of memory
(often called nondeclarative or implicit memory)
appears to be independent of the medial temporal lobe.
Using the techniques of functional magnetic resonance
imaging (fMRI), traditional experimental psychology,
neuropsychological studies of amnesic patients, and
connectionist modeling, research in the Stark lab
is focused on how the neural systems supporting these
two types of memory operate and interact. For
example, within the medial temporal lobe, what is the role
of the hippocampus and what is the role of the adjacent
parahippocampal gyrus? If declarative memory can
eventually be supported by structures outside of the medial
temporal lobe (via a consolidation process), can we use
this mechanism to teach amnesic patients facts without use
of the medial temporal lobe? Can we use false
memories as “memory illusions” to understand
the neural basis of memory as visual illusions helped us
understand the neural basis of visual
processing? What is the nature of the interplay
beteen declarative and nondeclarative learning and the
contributions of the medial temporal lobes vs. the striatum
to each type of learning? Finally, how does aging affect
memory and the operation of the medial temporal lobes?
In addition to projects centered on gaining an
understanding of the neural mechanisms that support memory,
there are several projects aimed at further developing the
techniques and methods of fMRI so that it might become an
even more useful and powerful tool for cognitive
neuroscience.