Conversation with Howard Eichenbaum

Howard Eichenbaum describes himself as “cognitive neuroscientist.”
The Boston University researcher combines biology and psychology for his job, which is a cross between psychologist and neuroscientist.
As part of the Center for Memory and Brain, Eichenbaum studies rats’ brains to learn how memory functions in animals, including humans. Eichenbaum hopes that understanding psychology and biology can help researchers make strides in alleviating human memory loss.
Eichenbaum earned an undergraduate degree in biology before he switched to psychology in graduate school. He obtained both degrees from the University of Michigan, before doing his postdoctoral fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Eichenbaum works as a faculty member in the Department of Psychology at Boston University. The field of biopsychology began to emerge while Eichenbaum was in graduate school.
Biopsychology, sometimes referred to as psychobiology, arose from the identification of brain areas involved in certain behaviors and emotions three decades ago; from the discovery in the 1950s that some psychological problems can be treated chemically; and from identifying chemicals, called neurotransmitters, that pass messages from one brain cell to the next.
After studying biopsychology, Eichenbaum decided to pursue an approach that combines both biology and psychology in his own research. In his studies, Eichenbaum takes a molecular biology approach in learning the electrical activities of the neurons of the brain. He uses his biological background to understand the brain’s circuitry in order to identify what happens with the synapses and neurons, in essence how neurons communicate with one another.
From a psychologist standpoint, Eichenbaum concerns himself with human behavior. In particular, Eichenbaum wants to examine memory, known as conscious recollection. He studies how people remember the order of events and how the brain can code sequence of events and play it back again.
Understanding the brain could help address memory disorders, common in aging, as well as diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Eichenbaum says.
Biology could also play a role in creating cures for such conditions. Researchers believe that a protein called beta-amyloid that builds up into plaques in the brain and kills nerve cells, could be at the root of Alzheimer’s. Drug studies are being done to attempt to break up this process, which is known as “amyloid cascade.” One anti-inflammatory drug being tested for its potential as an Alzheimer’s drug would target the enzyme, called gamma secretase that is believed to play a role in the amyloid build-up. Several drugs originally approved for other diseases, such as diabetes and prostate cancer, attempt to modify the brain processes that cause Alzheimer’s even though the processes aren’t fully understood.
Scientists have identified proteins responsible for strengthening the gaps where information is exchanged between neurons.
Understanding cell interaction in the brain could lead to new strategies for memory preservation to combat disease or aging, Eichenbaum says.