Paul Colombo, Ph.D., Associate ProfessorChair of 4+1 Admissions Committee
Ph.D., 1994, University of California, Berkeley
Office: 3062 Percival Stern Hall
Telephone: (504) 862-3359
Email: pcolomb@tulane.edu
There are three primary aims of research conducted in Dr. Colombo's laboratory. The first is to elucidate the neuronal mechanisms of memory formation with emphasis on the roles of signaling proteins, including kinases, phosphatases, and transcription factors. The second aim is test hypotheses regarding independence or interactions among multiple memory systems. The third aim is to apply results of studies of the neuronal mechanisms of memory formation to studies of age-related memory impairment under normal (e.g. non-pathological) aging conditions. Research on these three aims is conducted in parallel and combines behavioral analyses of learning and memory in rats with molecular-biological techniques to study the mechanisms of memory formation at both the cellular and the brain systems levels of analysis.
Selected Publications:
Smith, C.A., Countryman, R.A, Sahuque, L.L., & Colombo, P.J. (2007). Timecourses of Fos expression in rat hippocampus and neocortex following acquisition and recall of a socially transmitted food preference. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 88, 65-74.
Brightwell-Petta, J., Smith, C.A., Neve, R.L., & Colombo, P.J. (2007) Long-term memory for place-learning is facilitated by expression of cAMP response element-binding protein in the dorsal hippocampus Learning and Memory, 14, 195-199.
Arumugam, H., Liu, X., Colombo, P.J., Corriveau, R. A., & Belousov, A. B. (2005). NMDA receptors regulate developmental gap junction uncoupling via CREB signaling. Nature Neuroscience, 8(12), 1720-1726.
Countryman, R.A., Kaban, N.L. & Colombo, P.J. (2005). Hippocampal c-fos is necessary for long-term memory of a socially transmitted food preference. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 84, 175-183.
Brightwell, J.J, Smith, C.A., Countryman, R.A, Neve, R.L. & Colombo, P.J. (2005). Hippocampal overexpression of mutant CREB blocks long-term but not short-term memory for a socially transmitted food preference. Learning and Memory, 12, 12-17.
Countryman, R.A., Orlowski, J.D., Brightwell, J.J., Oskowitz, A.Z. & Colombo, P.J. (2005). CREB phosphorylation and c-Fos expression in the hippocampus of rats during acquisition and recall of a socially transmitted food preference. Hippocampus,15:1, 56-67.
Brightwell, J. J., Gallagher, M., & Colombo , P.J. (2004). Hippocampal CREB1, but not CREB2, is decreased in aged rats with spatial memory impairments. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 81,19-26.
Colombo, P.J. (2004) Learning-induced activation of transcription factors among multiple memory systems. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 82, 268-277.
Colombo, P. J., & Gold, P.E. (2004). Multiple memory systems. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 82, 169-170.
Colombo , P. J., Brightwell, J. J., & Countryman, R. A. (2003). Cognitive strategy-specific increases in phosphorylated CREB and c-Fos in the hippocampus and dorsal striatum. Journal of Neuroscience, 23, 3547-3554.
Colombo , P. J., & Gallagher, M. (2002). Individual differences in spatial memory among aged rats are related to protein kinase Cg immunoreactivity in CA1 of hippocampus. Hippocampus, 12, 285-289.
Nicolle, M. J., Colombo , P. J., Gallagher, M., & McKinney , M. (1999). Metabotropic glutamate receptor-mediated phosphoinositide turnover is blunted in spatial learning-impaired aged rats. Journal of Neuroscience, 19, 9604-9610.