Feindel Brain and Mind Seminar Series - Impact of Technology

Full Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Douglas Hospital, McGill University

Impact of Technology on Spatial Memory, the Hippocampus and Implications for Healthy Cognition

Abstract: Different memory systems, dependent on separate parts of the brain, can sustain successful navigation. The hippocampus is implicated in spatial memory strategies used when finding one’s way in the environment, i.e. it is allocentric and involves remembering the relationship between landmarks. On the other hand, another strategy dependent on the caudate nucleus can also be used, i.e. the response strategy, which relies on making a series of stimulus-response associations (e.g. right and left turns from given positions that act as stimuli, such as turn right at the white building). Adults who use spatial memory strategies showed increased fMRI activity in the hippocampus, increased grey matter in the hippocampus, and better overall cognition compared to adults who use response strategies. Decades of research in my laboratory has shown that specific navigation strategies are associated with several genes, such as BDNF and ApoE, as well as hormones, such as cortisol and progesterone. Experiences dependent modulators such as age, habit, stress and rewards also modulate strategies dependent on the hippocampus and caudate nucleus. Moreover, certain technologies such as Global Position Systems (GPS) or video games inhibit the use of the hippocampus and are associated to poor spatial memory. These results have important implications on mental health because a larger hippocampus has been associated with healthy cognition in normal aging and with a reduced risk of numerous neurological and psychiatric disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, Schizophrenia, Post-Traumatic Stress disorder and Depression.

Bio: Véronique Bohbot received her PhD in cognitive neuroscience in 1997 at the University of Arizona under the supervision of Lynn Nadel, co-author of Nobel Laureate John O’Keefe. Dr. Bohbot is an internationally recognized expert in the field of spatial memory and navigation. She made over 150 scientific presentations on memory at national and international conferences and published over 80 scientific articles and one book. Her research has been featured in university textbooks, on television, radio and in more than 50,000 internet sites that report the potential effects of technology on the brain. She studied spatial memory in healthy individuals from 8 years old to 85 years of age. She also examined spatial memory in relation to various neurological and psychiatric disorders, such as mild cognitive impairment, Parkinson's disease, diabetes, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and schizophrenia. Dr. Bohbot’s research uses methods with cutting edge technology such as virtual reality and neuroimaging in order to stimulate memory and the hippocampus, thereby reducing risks of neurological and psychiatric disorders. Currently, Dr. Bohbot holds a Full Professor position in the Department of Psychiatry at McGill University.

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