Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 15, 2026

Aversive Associative Learning and Memory Formation by Pairing Two Chemicals in Caenorhabditis elegans
Published on: June 23, 2022
The essential role of hippocampal CA1 NMDA receptor-dependent synaptic plasticity in spatial memory
J Z Tsien1, P T Huerta, S Tonegawa
1Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Center for Learning and Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 02139, USA.
Abstract:
We have produced a mouse strain in which the deletion of the NMDAR1 gene is restricted to the CA1 pyramidal cells of the hippocampus by using a new and general method that allows CA1-restricted gene knockout. The mutant mice grow into adulthood without obvious abnormalities. Adult mice lack NMDA receptor-mediated synaptic currents and long-term potentiation in the CA1 synapses and exhibit impaired spatial memory but unimpaired nonspatial learning. Our results strongly suggest that activity-dependent modifications of CA1 synapses, mediated by NMDA receptors, play an essential role in the acquisition of spatial memories.
Related Concept Videos
Long-term Potentiation
Role of Hippocampus in Memory
Long-term Potentiation
Hebbian LTP
LTP can occur when presynaptic neurons...
Role of Neurotransmitters in Memory
Glutamate and Synaptic Plasticity
Glutamate, the brain's main excitatory neurotransmitter, is critical for...
Long-term Depression
Calcium Ion Concentration Mechanism
If over time, all...
Long-term Depression

