BDNF in the dentate gyrus is required for consolidation of "pattern-separated" memories

PEDRO BEKINSCHTEIN; BRIANNE A. KENT; CHARLOTTE OOMEN; GREGORY D. CLEMENSON; FRED H. GAGE; LISA M. SAKSIDA; TIMOTHY J. BUSSEY

Cell Reports

CELL PRESS

Lugar: Boston; Año: 2013 vol. 5 p. 1 - 10

2211-1247

Successful memory involves not only remembering information over time, but also keeping memories distinct and less confusable. The computational process for making representations for similar input patterns more distinct from each other has been referred to as ?pattern separation?. In this work, we developed a set of behavioural conditions that allowed us to manipulate the load for pattern separation at different stages of memory. Thus, we provide the first experimental evidence that a BDNF-dependent pattern separation process occurs during the encoding/storage/consolidation, but not the retrieval stage of memory processing. We also found that a spontaneous increase in BDNF in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus is associated with exposure to landmarks delineating similar, but not dissimilar spatial locations, suggesting that BDNF is expressed on an ?as-needed? basis for pattern separation.