James L. McGaugh, PhD

The research in my laboratory has focused on the neurobiological systems that modulate the formation of lasting memory in rats as well as human subjects. The findings have revealed the involvement of stress hormones released by emotional arousal and the consequent activation of the amygdala. Such activation influences consequent interactions with other brain systems involved in processing different kinds of information. The recent research has begun to examine memory in human subjects who have exceptionally strong autobiographical memories. The aim is to understand the processes that enable such naturally occurring strong memories and to determine whether the processes are the same as or related to those we previously found in our research on endogenous processes that modulate memory formation. I currently teach both undergraduate and graduate courses in the neurobiology of learning and memory and direct the research of graduate students and postdoctoral researchers. The many graduate students and postdoctoral researchers who have collaborated in this research are now faculty members at many universities in the U.S., Europe and Asia.