Bidirectional synaptic plasticity and spatial memory flexibility require Ca2+-stimulated adenylyl cyclases.

When certain memory becomes obsolete, effective suppression of the previously established memory is essential for animals to adapt to the changing environment. At the cellular level, reversal of synaptic potentiation may be important for neurons to acquire new information and to prevent synaptic saturation. Here, we investigated the function of Ca(2+)-stimulated cAMP signaling in the regulation of bidirectional synaptic plasticity and spatial memory formation in double knock-out mice (DKO) lacking both type 1 and 8 adenylyl cyclases (ACs). In anesthetized animals, the DKO mutants showed defective long-term potentiation (LTP) after a single high-frequency stimulation (HFS) or two spaced HFSs at 100 Hz. However, DKO mice showed normal LTP after a single HFS at 200 Hz or two compressed HFSs at 100 Hz. Interestingly, reversal of synaptic potentiation as well as de novo synaptic depression was impaired in DKO mice. In the Morris water maze, DKO mice showed defective acquisition and memory retention, although the deficits could be attenuated by overtraining or compressed trainings with a shorter intertrial interval. In the reversal platform test, DKO animals were impaired in both relearning and old memory suppression. Furthermore, the extinction of the old spatial memory was not efficient in DKO mice. These data demonstrate that Ca(2+)-stimulated AC activity is important not only for LTP and spatial memory formation but also for the suppression of both previously established synaptic potentiation and old spatial memory.