Cell Specificity of Molecular Changes During Memory Storage |
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Authors: | D L McPhie† L D Matzel J L Olds D S Lester A M Kuzirian‡ D L Alkon§ |
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Institution: | Neural Systems Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland;Department of Psychology, Rutgers University, Bush Campus, New Brunswick, New Jersey;Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, Massachusetts;Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., U.S.A. |
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Abstract: | Abstract: The aeolid nudibranch, Hermissenda crassicornis , exhibits Pavlovian conditioning to paired light and rotational stimuli and it has been suggested that protein kinase C (PKC) may play a critical role in the cellular mechanism for this conditioned behavioral response in the B-cell photoreceptor. The present study was designed to further examine learning-specific PKC involvement in identified cellular areas, particularly those in the visual-vestibular network, of the Hermissenda nervous system after Pavlovian conditioning. As used in previous vertebrate studies, the highly specific PKC radioligand, 3H]phorbol-12,13-dibutyrate (3H]-PDBU), was used to determine the binding characteristics of the molluscan protein receptor considered to be PKC. The binding was specific, saturable, and could be displaced by a soluble diacylglycerol analogue. The binding activity was distributed evenly between the cytosol and the membrane. All of these analyses suggest that 3H]PDBU binds primarily to PKC in Hermissenda as it does in many other systems. Computerized grain image analysis was then used to determine the cellular localization of PKC as a function of Pavlovian conditioning. The medial and intermediate B photoreceptor and the optic ganglion showed significantly increased 3H]PDBU binding in conditioned animals. The present results provide the first report of an associative learning change of a key signal transduction component in identified neurons. |
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Keywords: | Hermissenda Protein kinase C Autoradiographic localization Learning-induced changes |
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