To persist or not to persist: a crucial role of gene expression late after training in the hippocampus and retrosplenial cortex in maintenance of long-term memory storage.

KATCHE C; BEKINSCHTEIN P; SLIPCZUK L; GOLDIN A; DORMAN G; IZQUIERDO I; CAMMAROTA M; MEDINA JH

Amsterdam - Holanda

Congreso; 7th FENS forum 2010 - Federation of European Neuroscience Societies; 2010

Memory formation is a temporally graded process during which transcription and translation steps are required in the first hours after acquisition. Although persistence is a key characteristic of memory storage, its mechanisms are scarcely characterized. Here, we show that long-lasting but not short-lived inhibitory avoidance long-term memory depends on a delayed expression of c-Fos in the hippocampus and retrosplenial cortex. Moreover, inhibition of transcription in both structures 12-24 h after training hinders late cosolidation but not formation of long-term storage. These findings indicate that a delayed phase of transcription is essential for maintenance of a fear-motivated memory trace. Our results support the hypothesis that recurrent rounds of consolidation-like events take place late after learning in the dorsal hippocampus and retrosplenial cortex to maintain memories.