Molecular cellular cognition

Although closely connected with behavioral genetics, MCC emphasizes the integration of molecular and cellular explanations of behavior, instead of focusing on the connections between genes and behavior.

Unlike cognitive neuroscience, which historically has focused on the connection between human brain systems and behavior, the field of MCC has used model organisms, such as mice, to study how molecular (i.e. receptor, kinase activation, phosphatase regulation), intra-cellular (i.e. dendritic processes), and inter-cellular processes (i.e. synaptic plasticity; network representations such as place fields) modulate cognitive function.

Methods employed in MCC include (but are not limited to) transgenic organisms (i.e. mice), viral vectors, pharmacology, in vitro and in vivo electrophysiology, optogenetics, in vivo imaging, and behavioral analysis. Modeling has become an essential component of the field because of the complexity of the multilevel data generated.

Scientific roots

The field of MCC has its roots in the pioneering pharmacological studies of the role of NMDA receptor in long-term potentiation and spatial learning and in studies that used knockout mice to look at the role of the alpha calcium calmodulin kinase II and FYN kinase in hippocampal long-term potentiation and spatial learning. The field has since expanded to include a large array of molecules including CREB.