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Persistent Increases of PKMζ in Sensorimotor Cortex Maintain Procedural Long-Term Memory Storage
Peng Penny Gao1, Jeffrey H Goodman2, Todd Charlton Sacktor3
1Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, The Robert F. Furchgott Center for Neural and Behavioral Science, State University of New York Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY 11203, USA.
Iscience
|September 22, 2018
Summary
Persistent increases in protein kinase M zeta (PKMζ) in the motor cortex are essential for maintaining long-term procedural motor memories. This key molecule is localized to specific layers involved in motor output.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Molecular Biology
- Motor Learning
Background:
- Procedural motor learning involves synaptic plasticity, neural dynamics, and synaptogenesis.
- The spatiotemporal dynamics of molecular machinery sustaining these changes remain poorly understood.
- Protein kinase M zeta (PKMζ), an atypical protein kinase C (PKC) isoform, is implicated in memory storage.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if persistent increases in PKMζ store long-term procedural memory for a reaching task.
- To identify the specific locations of procedural memory storage within the rat sensorimotor cortex.
Main Methods:
- PKMζ synthesis was perturbed using antisense oligodeoxynucleotides.
- Atypical PKC activity was blocked using zeta inhibitory peptide (ZIP).
- Immunostaining was used to visualize PKMζ localization in rat S1/M1 (primary somatosensory and motor cortex).
Main Results:
- Disrupting PKMζ synthesis or blocking atypical PKC activity erased long-term motor memory.
- PKMζ levels increased in S1/M1 layers II/III and V as motor performance improved.
- Elevated PKMζ in M1 layer V persisted for at least one month without reinforcement.
Conclusions:
- Atypical PKCs, particularly PKMζ, are crucial for storing consolidated long-term procedural memories.
- Persistent PKMζ increases, vital for long-term procedural memory, are specifically localized to the primary motor cortex's output layer (M1 layer V).
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