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Improved Preparation and Preservation of Hippocampal Mouse Slices for a Very Stable and Reproducible Recording of Long-term Potentiation
Published on: June 26, 2013
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A short-term memory trace persists for days in the mouse hippocampus
Maha E Wally1,2,3,4, Masanori Nomoto1,2,3, Kareem Abdou1,2,3,5
1Research Center for Idling Brain Science, University of Toyama, Toyama, 930-0194, Japan.
Communications Biology
|November 4, 2022
Summary
Short-term memory (STM) can persist long-term as a dormant engram. Reactivation within three days facilitates memory consolidation, revealing a two-step STM storage process.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Memory Research
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Short-term memory (STM) is typically understood to last only a few hours.
- The potential for long-term functions or storage of STM remains largely unexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the long-term existence of STM traces.
- To explore the mechanisms underlying STM consolidation into long-term memory.
Main Methods:
- Optogenetic retrieval of STM engrams.
- Inhibition of CA1 activity during NREM sleep.
- Pharmacological inhibition of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) activity.
- Inhibition of protein synthesis.
Main Results:
- STM engrams were optogenetically retrieved long after natural recall was impossible.
- Re-training within 3 days significantly enhanced long-term recall, indicating facilitated consolidation.
- Inhibition of NREM sleep, NMDAR activity, or protein synthesis impaired this consolidation process.
Conclusions:
- STM is not entirely lost within hours but can exist as a long-term, behaviorally inactive engram.
- A two-step consolidation process for STM is proposed: initial storage as an inactive engram, followed by activation and transformation within days.
- NREM sleep, NMDAR activity, and protein synthesis play crucial roles in the long-term storage and consolidation of STM traces.
