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Updated: May 14, 2026

Improved Preparation and Preservation of Hippocampal Mouse Slices for a Very Stable and Reproducible Recording of Long-term Potentiation
Published on: June 26, 2013
PKM and the maintenance of memory
1Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, University of California Los Angeles, CA, 90095 USA ; Department of Neurobiology and the Brain Research Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, CA, 90095 USA ; Integrative Center for Learning and Memory, University of California Los Angeles, CA, 90095 USA.
Abstract:
How can memories outlast the molecules from which they are made? Answers to this fundamental question have been slow coming but are now emerging. A novel kinase, an isoform of protein kinase C (PKC), PKMzeta, has been shown to be critical to the maintenance of some types of memory. Inhibiting the catalytic properties of this kinase can erase well-established memories without altering the ability of the erased synapse to be retrained. This article provides an overview of the literature linking PKMzeta to memory maintenance and identifies some of the controversial issues that surround the bold implications of the existing data. It concludes with a discussion of the future directions of this domain.
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