RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Regulation of Synaptic Plasticity Genes during Consolidation of Fear Conditioning
JF The Journal of Neuroscience
JO J. Neurosci.
FD Society for Neuroscience
SP 7892
OP 7902
DO 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.22-18-07892.2002
VO 22
IS 18
A1 Kerry J. Ressler
A1 Gayla Paschall
A1 Xiao-liu Zhou
A1 Michael Davis
YR 2002
UL http://www.jneurosci.org/content/22/18/7892.abstract
AB In mammals, long-term memory induced by Pavlovian fear conditioning has been shown to be dependent on the amygdala during a protein and mRNA synthesis-dependent phase of memory consolidation. We have used genes identified in a kainic acid model of synaptic plasticity asin situ hybridization probes during the consolidation period after fear conditioning. We found that these genes were transcriptionally regulated in several brain areas only when stimuli were presented in a manner that supported behavioral learning and not after unpaired presentations or footshocks alone. Immediate early genes and neurofilament mRNA peaked ∼30 min after conditioning, as expected. Interestingly, nurr-1, α-actinin, and 16c8 increased ∼2–4 hr later, whereas neurogranin and gephyrin decreased during that time. Our results suggest that fear memory consolidation occurs within a broad neural circuit that includes, but is not limited to, the amygdala. Together, a broad array of transcriptionally regulated genes, encoding transcription factors, cytoskeletal proteins, adhesion molecules, and receptor stabilization molecules, appear to mediate the neural plasticity underlying specific forms of long-term memory in mammals.