Theo Palmer’s lab focused on the ability of adult neuronal precursors to develop into mature neurons and many focuses particularly on the dentate gyrus (DG) of the hippocampus which among other things has been associated with learning. My work has focused on understanding the interaction between learning and forgetting in particular Rac1 a Rho GTPase protein that has been associated with in neuronal morphogenesis, survival, neural transmitter release, neurogenesis, and neuronal migration and forgetting. We are studying how Rac1 deficit in neuronal cells resulting in the reduced performance in the working memory (ability to remember what is happening here and now compared to previously) tasks effects the survival and proliferation of new born neurons, and how the learning ability of these mice can be improved and how this effects the survival and proliferation of new born neurons. We also aim to understand the biochemical pathways involved in Rac1’s interactions with memory and to this aim we also investigated how β-catenin (part of the Wnt conical pathway) which has recently been shown to stabilize or signal Rac1. We are therefore also investigation how β-catenin effects the survival and proliferation of new born neurons during working memory trails.