Zif268 is involved in the formation and persistence of long-term memory storage

CYNTHIA KATCHE; ANDREA P. GOLDIN; PEDRO BEKINSCHTEIN; JORGE H. MEDINA

Barcelona

Congreso; 8th FENS Forum of Neuroscience; 2012

The most remarkable feature of the brain is its capacity to collect and store information to produce appropriate changes in behavior. Although persistence is a key characteristic of memory storage, little is known about its molecular mechanisms. Here, we show that Zif268 is both required early after acquisition for inhibitory avoidance memory formation and during a late critical period for persistence of long-term memory in the hippocampus. Our findings indicate that a delayed stabilization phase is specifically required for maintenance, but not formation of memory trace. We propose that memory formation and memory persistence shares some of the same molecular mechanisms and that recurrent rounds of consolidation-like events take place in the hippocampus for maintenance of the memory trace.