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Assessing Spatial Learning and Memory in Small Squamate Reptiles
Published on: January 3, 2017
Sites of neocortical reorganization critical for remote spatial memory
Thibault Maviel1, Thomas P Durkin, Frédérique Menzaghi
1Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives, CNRS UMR 5106, Université de Bordeaux 1, Avenue des Facultés, 33405 Talence, France.
Abstract:
The hippocampus is crucial for spatial memory formation, yet it does not store long-lasting memories. By combining functional brain imaging and region-specific neuronal inactivation in mice, we identified prefrontal and anterior cingulate cortices as critical for storage and retrieval of remote spatial memories [correction]. Imaging of activity-dependent genes also revealed an involvement of parietal and retrosplenial cortices during consolidation of remote memory. Long-term memory storage within some of these neocortical regions was accompanied by structural changes including synaptogenesis and laminar reorganization, concomitant with a functional disengagement of the hippocampus and posterior cingulate cortex [correction]. Thus, consolidation of spatial memory requires a time-dependent hippocampal-cortical dialogue, ultimately enabling widespread cortical networks to mediate effortful recall and use of cortically stored remote memories independently.
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