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The Journal of Neuroscience, December 27, 2006, 26(52):13437-13442; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2781-06.2006

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Brief Communications
Temporal Discontiguity Is neither Necessary nor Sufficient for Learning-Induced Effects on Adult Neurogenesis

Benedetta Leuner,¹ Jaylyn Waddell,² Elizabeth Gould,¹ and Tracey J. Shors²

¹Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, and ²Department of Psychology and Center for Collaborative Neuroscience, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854

Correspondence should be addressed to Dr. Tracey J. Shors, Rutgers University, Department of Psychology, 152 Frelinghuysen Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854. Email: shors{at}rutgers.edu

Some, but not all, types of learning and memory can influence neurogenesis in the adult hippocampus. Trace eyeblink conditioning has been shown to enhance the survival of new neurons, whereas delay eyeblink conditioning has no such effect. The key difference between the two training procedures is that the conditioning stimuli are separated in time during trace but not delay conditioning. These findings raise the question of whether temporal discontiguity is necessary for enhancing the survival of new neurons. Here we used two approaches to test this hypothesis. First, we examined the influence of a delay conditioning task in which the duration of the conditioned stimulus (CS) was increased nearly twofold, a procedure that critically engages the hippocampus. Although the CS and unconditioned stimulus are contiguous, this very long delay conditioning procedure increased the number of new neurons that survived. Second, we examined the influence of learning the trace conditioned response (CR) after having acquired the CR during delay conditioning, a procedure that renders trace conditioning hippocampal-independent. In this case, trace conditioning did not enhance the survival of new neurons. Together, these results demonstrate that associative learning increases the survival of new neurons in the adult hippocampus, regardless of temporal contiguity.

Key words: classical conditioning; plasticity; dentate gyrus; hippocampus; learning and memory; BrdU

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Received June 29, 2006; revised Nov. 16, 2006; accepted Nov. 17, 2006.

Correspondence should be addressed to Dr. Tracey J. Shors, Rutgers University, Department of Psychology, 152 Frelinghuysen Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854. Email: shors{at}rutgers.edu

This article has been cited by other articles:

				H. M. Sisti, A. L. Glass, and T. J. Shors Neurogenesis and the spacing effect: Learning over time enhances memory and the survival of new neurons Learn. Mem., May 10, 2007; 14(5): 368 - 375. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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