Ryan Tomás J, Roy Dheeraj S, Pignatelli Michele, Arons Autumn, Tonegawa Susumu
RIKEN-MIT Center for Neural Circuit Genetics at the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Biology and Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
RIKEN-MIT Center for Neural Circuit Genetics at the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Biology and Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
Science. 2015 May 29;348(6238):1007-13. doi: 10.1126/science.aaa5542. Epub 2015 May 28.
Memory consolidation is the process by which a newly formed and unstable memory transforms into a stable long-term memory. It is unknown whether the process of memory consolidation occurs exclusively through the stabilization of memory engrams. By using learning-dependent cell labeling, we identified an increase of synaptic strength and dendritic spine density specifically in consolidated memory engram cells. Although these properties are lacking in engram cells under protein synthesis inhibitor-induced amnesia, direct optogenetic activation of these cells results in memory retrieval, and this correlates with retained engram cell-specific connectivity. We propose that a specific pattern of connectivity of engram cells may be crucial for memory information storage and that strengthened synapses in these cells critically contribute to the memory retrieval process.
记忆巩固是一个新形成的不稳定记忆转化为稳定长期记忆的过程。目前尚不清楚记忆巩固过程是否仅通过记忆印迹的稳定来发生。通过使用依赖学习的细胞标记，我们发现特别是在巩固的记忆印迹细胞中突触强度和树突棘密度增加。尽管在蛋白质合成抑制剂诱导的失忆症中，印迹细胞缺乏这些特性，但对这些细胞进行直接光遗传学激活会导致记忆提取，这与保留的印迹细胞特异性连接性相关。我们提出，印迹细胞的特定连接模式可能对记忆信息存储至关重要，并且这些细胞中增强的突触对记忆提取过程有重要贡献。
