Federal Grant Award Summary

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) awarded Cornell University $131,118 under the Mental Health Research Grants program (CFDA 93.242) on July 15, 2026, to support a two-year research project examining intrinsic hippocampal circuit dynamics underlying episodic memory. The research will deliver scientific insights into how hippocampal place cell representations support stable memory despite documented neural drift over time. The project employs ultra-high-density neural recordings, computational circuit modeling, and cell-type-specific optogenetic perturbations in behaving mice to characterize the functional role of representational drift in spatial memory and flexible decision-making.

The project comprises three complementary research aims: Aim 1 will identify latent structures in hippocampal population dynamics using novel analytical methods during spatial memory tasks; Aim 2 will employ theoretical modeling and causal optogenetic manipulations to determine circuit mechanisms underlying drift and evaluate drift's causal role in memory-guided behavior; and Aim 3 will investigate dorsal-ventral hippocampal interactions during representational drift in flexible memory-guided decision-making using dual-site recordings and region-specific optogenetic manipulation. The award supports work conducted at Cornell University's Ithaca, New York campus with a completion date of June 30, 2028.