Cyclin-dependent kinase 5 in synaptic plasticity, learning and memory

Cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) is a serine/threonine kinase with a multitude of functions. Although Cdk5 is widely expressed, it has been studied most extensively in neurons. Since its initial characterization, the fundamental contribution of Cdk5 to an impressive range of neuronal processes has become clear. These phenomena include neural development, dopaminergic function and neurodegeneration. Data from different fields have recently converged to provide evidence for the participation of Cdk5 in synaptic plasticity, learning and memory. In this review, we consider recent data implicating Cdk5 in molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying synaptic plasticity. We relate these findings to its emerging role in learning and memory. Particular attention is paid to the activation of Cdk5 by p25, which enhances hippocampal synaptic plasticity and memory, and suggests formation of p25 as a physiological process regulating synaptic plasticity and memory.     

The role of synaptic ion channels in synaptic plasticity

The nervous system receives a large amount of information about the environment through elaborate sensory routes. Processing and integration of these wide-ranging inputs often results in long-term behavioural alterations as a result of past experiences. These relatively permanent changes in behaviour are manifestations of the capacity of the nervous system for learning and memory. At the cellular level, synaptic plasticity is one of the mechanisms underlying this process. Repeated neural activity generates physiological changes in the nervous system that ultimately modulate neuronal communication through synaptic transmission. Recent studies implicate both presynaptic and postsynaptic ion channels in the process of synapse strength modulation. Here, we review the role of synaptic ion channels in learning and memory, and discuss the implications and significance of these findings towards deciphering the molecular biology of learning and memory.     

Dendritic protein synthesis, synaptic plasticity, and memory

Considerable evidence suggests that the formation of long-term memories requires a critical period of new protein synthesis. Recently, the notion that some of these newly synthesized proteins originate through local translation in neuronal dendrites has gained some traction. Here, we review the experimental support for this idea and highlight some of the key questions outstanding in this area.     

Focal adhesion kinase regulates neuronal growth, synaptic plasticity and hippocampus-dependent spatial learning and memory

The focal adhesion kinase (FAK) is a non-receptor tyrosine kinase abundantly expressed in the mammalian brain and highly enriched in neuronal growth cones. Inhibitory and facilitatory activities of FAK on neuronal growth have been reported and its role in neuritic outgrowth remains controversial. Unlike other tyrosine kinases, such as the neurotrophin receptors regulating neuronal growth and plasticity, the relevance of FAK for learning and memory in vivo has not been clearly defined yet. A comprehensive study aimed at determining the role of FAK in neuronal growth, neurotransmitter release and synaptic plasticity in hippocampal neurons and in hippocampus-dependent learning and memory was therefore undertaken using the mouse model. Gain- and loss-of-function experiments indicated that FAK is a critical regulator of hippocampal cell morphology. FAK mediated neurotrophin-induced neuritic outgrowth and FAK inhibition affected both miniature excitatory postsynaptic potentials and activity-dependent hippocampal long-term potentiation prompting us to explore the possible role of FAK in spatial learning and memory in vivo. Our data indicate that FAK has a growth-promoting effect, is importantly involved in the regulation of the synaptic function and mediates in vivo hippocampus-dependent spatial learning and memory.     

The ion channel,TRPM2, contributes to the pathogenesis of radiodermatitis

Radiation and Environmental Biophysics - Radiodermatitis is a painful side effect for cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy. Irradiation of the skin causes inflammation and breakdown of the...     

mRNA at synapses,synaptic plasticity,and memory consolidation

Miller et al. (this issue of Neuron) report that deletion of the 3'UTR of alpha-CaMKII mRNA prevents dendritic delivery of the mRNA in transgenic mice and thus local synthesis of alpha-CaMKII protein in dendrites. 3'UTR mutant mice exhibit decreases in alpha-CaMKII protein in postsynaptic densities, and deficits in late phase LTP and in memory consolidation.     

The synaptic plasticity and memory hypothesis: encoding,storage and persistence

The synaptic plasticity and memory hypothesis asserts that activity-dependent synaptic plasticity is induced at appropriate synapses during memory formation and is both necessary and sufficient for the encoding and trace storage of the type of memory mediated by the brain area in which it is observed. Criteria for establishing the necessity and sufficiency of such plasticity in mediating trace storage have been identified and are here reviewed in relation to new work using some of the diverse techniques of contemporary neuroscience. Evidence derived using optical imaging, molecular-genetic and optogenetic techniques in conjunction with appropriate behavioural analyses continues to offer support for the idea that changing the strength of connections between neurons is one of the major mechanisms by which engrams are stored in the brain.     

Neurotrophic peptides incorporating adamantane improve learning and memory, promote neurogenesis and synaptic plasticity in mice

Development of neurotrophic peptidergic drugs that can mimic neurotrophins and promote neurogenesis and maturation of newborn cells into mature functional neurons represents an exciting therapeutic opportunity for treatment of Alzheimer disease and other learning and memory disorders as well as enhancing cognition of normal individuals. Here we report the design of a peptidergic compound, Ac-DGGL^AG-NH₂, called P21, when administered peripherally, enhanced learning as well as both short-term and spatial reference memories of normal adult C57Bl6 mice. P21 induced enhancement of neurogenesis and maturation of newly born neurons in the granular cell layer and subgranular zone of the dentate gyrus.     

A molecular biological approach to synaptic plasticity and learning

Until the more recent advances made in molecular biology, attempts to link synaptic plasticity and learning have focused on using LTP as a marker of learning-induced synaptic plasticity, where one has expected to observe the same magnitude of change in synaptic strength as that observed with artificial stimulation. To a large extent this approach has been frustrated by the fact that it is generally assumed that the representation of the memory traces is distributed thoughout widespread networks of cells. By implication it is more likely that one would observe small distributed changes within a network; a formidable task to measure. In this review we describe how the advances in molecular biology give us both the tools to investigate the mechanisms of synaptic plasticity and to apply these to investigations of the underlying mechanisms in learning and the formation of memories that have until now remained out of our grasp.     

Time scales of memory, learning, and plasticity

After only about 10 days would the storage capacity of our nervous system be reached if we stored every bit of input. The nervous system relies on at least two mechanisms that counteract this capacity limit: compression and forgetting. But the latter mechanism needs to know how long an entity should be stored: some memories are relevant only for the next few minutes, some are important even after the passage of several years. Psychology and physiology have found and described many different memory mechanisms, and these mechanisms indeed use different time scales. In this prospect we review these mechanisms with respect to their time scale and propose relations between mechanisms in learning and memory and their underlying physiological basis.     

Molecular mechanisms of synaptic plasticity and memory.

To unravel the molecular and cellular bases of learning and memory is one of the most ambitious goals of modern science. The progress of recent years has not only brought us closer to understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying stable, long-lasting changes in synaptic strength, but it has also provided further evidence that these mechanisms are required for memory formation.     

Protein kinase signaling in synaptic plasticity and memory

The relay of extracellular signals into changes in cellular physiology involves a Byzantine array of intracellular signaling pathways, of which cytoplasmic protein kinases are a crucial component. In the nervous system, a great deal of effort has focused on understanding the conversion of patterns of synaptic activity into long-lasting changes in synaptic efficacy that are thought to underlie memory. The goal is both to understand synaptic plasticity mechanisms, such as long-term potentiation, at a molecular level and to understand the relationship of these synaptic mechanisms to behavioral memory. Although both involve the activation of multiple signaling pathways, recent studies are beginning to define discrete roles and mechanisms for individual kinases in the different temporal phases of both synaptic and behavioral plasticity.     

Synaptic plasticity in learning and memory

Pavlovian conditioning has been considered as one of the principal experimental approaches to understanding such complex brain functions as learning and memory. Use-dependent alterations in synaptic efficacy are believed to form the basis for these functions. The algorithm of synapse modification proposed by D. Hebb as early as 1949 is the coincident activation of pre- and postsynaptic neurons. The present review considers the evolution of experimental protocols which were used to reveal the manifestations of Hebb-type plasticity in the synaptic inputs to neocortical and hippocampal neurons. Special attention is focused on long-term modifications of synaptic efficacy in the hippocampus as a possible neuronal mechanism of learning and the role of disinhibition in their development. The effects of various neuromodulators on hippocampal long-term potentiation are considered. It is suggested that along with their involvement in disinhibition processes these substances may control the Hebb-type plasticity through intracellular second messenger systems.     

Mitogen-activated protein kinases in synaptic plasticity and memory

This review highlights five areas of recent discovery concerning the role of extracellular-signal regulated kinases (ERKs) in the hippocampus. First, ERKs have recently been directly implicated in human learning through studies of a human mental retardation syndrome. Second, new models are being formulated for how ERKs contribute to molecular information processing in dendrites. Third, a role of ERKs in stabilizing structural changes in dendritic spines has been defined. Fourth, a crucial role for ERKs in regulating local dendritic protein synthesis is emerging. Fifth, the importance of ERK interactions with scaffolding and structural proteins at the synapse is increasingly apparent. These topics are discussed within the context of an emerging role for ERKs in a wide variety of forms of synaptic plasticity and memory formation in the behaving animal.     

突触后钙通路有助于视锥与L型水平细胞间的突触可塑性

我们实验室以前发现,视网膜视锥与亮度型水平细胞（luminosity—type horizontal cell,LHC）之间的突触传递效率具有可塑性。重复性刺激红敏视锥增加了LHC对红光的超极化反应幅度,而且这种增强作用是可逆的。在本文中,我们运用细胞内记录技术和药理学分析的方法来考察重复性红光刺激引起的反应增强的可能机制。当通过胞内注射Ca^2＋的螯合剂EGTA来降低LHC内的Ca^2＋浓度后,重复性红光引起的反应增强被抑制,提示突触后钙信号是反应增强的一个重要因素。另外,反应增强现象还可以被钙离子通透的AMPA受体（Ca^2＋-permeable AMPA receptor,CP-AMPAR）的拈抗剂阻断,说明通过钙离子通透的谷氨酸受体内流的Ca^2＋与胞内Ca^2＋浓度的改变有关。进一步发现,胞外灌流ryanodine或caffeine也可以消除反应增强现象,说明由钙诱导的钙释放（calcium—induced calcium release,CICR）引起的钙信号可能也参与了反应增强现象的产生。结果提示,CICR和CP—AMPAR与重复性红光刺激引起的LHC对红光的反应增强有关。     

突触长时程增强形成与学习记忆的相关研究

突触长时程增强(LTP)的形成与学习记忆有相似特征,将其作为记忆的一种模式加以研究,并深入探索LTP机制产生与静止突触的关系,长时程突触修饰与突触后神经细胞内Ca^2 的作用机制,学习行为后海马内出现的突触效能变化与行为学习之间的关系,以及BDNF对海马突触的LTP调节与长时记忆所涉及关于LTP的相关基因表达。