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The Molecular Biology of Memory Storage: A Dialogue Between Genes and Synapses
Eric R. Kandel*
One of the most remarkable aspects of an animal's behavior is
the ability to modify that behavior by learning, an abilitythat
reaches its highest form in human beings. For me, learningand memory
have proven to be endlessly fascinating mental processesbecause they
address one of the fundamental features of humanactivity: our ability
to acquire new ideas from experience andto retain these ideas over
time in memory. Moreover, unlike othermental processes such as
thought, language, and consciousness,learning seemed from the outset
to be readily accessible to cellularand molecular analysis. I,
therefore, have been curious to know:What changes in the brain when we
learn? And, once something islearned, how is that information retained
in the brain? I havetried to address these questions through a
reductionist approachthat would allow me to investigate elementary
forms of learningand memory at a cellular molecular level--as specific
molecularactivities within identified nerve cells.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Center for Neurobiology and
Behavior, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University,
New York State Psychiatric Institute, 1051 Riverside Drive, New York,
NY 10032, USA. E-mail: erk5{at}columbia.edu *
This essay is adapted from the author's address to the Nobel
Foundation, December 2000.
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From the Cover: Bisphenol A prevents the synaptogenic response to estradiol in hippocampus and prefrontal cortex of ovariectomized nonhuman primates.
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Physiological Role for Phosphatidic Acid in the Translocation of the Novel Protein Kinase C Apl II in Aplysia Neurons.
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Cochlear Implants Stimulate Activity-Dependent CREB Pathway in the Deaf Auditory Cortex: Implications for Molecular Plasticity Induced by Neural Prosthetic Devices.
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c-Rel, an NF-{kappa}B family transcription factor, is required for hippocampal long-term synaptic plasticity and memory formation.
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The Potential Role of Postsynaptic Phospholipase C Activity in Synaptic Facilitation and Behavioral Sensitization in Aplysia.
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Serotonin Transduction Cascades Mediate Variable Changes in Pyloric Network Cycle Frequency in Response to the Same Modulatory Challenge.
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Potassium Channels: Newly Found Players in Synaptic Plasticity.
J. Kim and D. A. Hoffman (2008)
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Activation of exchange protein activated by cyclic-AMP enhances long-lasting synaptic potentiation in the hippocampus.
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Training with inedible food in Aplysia causes expression of C/EBP in the buccal but not cerebral ganglion.
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Activated Nuclear Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor mGlu5 Couples to Nuclear Gq/11 Proteins to Generate Inositol 1,4,5-Trisphosphate-mediated Nuclear Ca2+ Release.
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Proteasome inhibition enhances the induction and impairs the maintenance of late-phase long-term potentiation.
C. Dong, S. C. Upadhya, L. Ding, T. K. Smith, and A. N. Hegde (2008)
Learn. Mem.
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Serotonin is necessary for place memory in Drosophila.
D. Sitaraman, M. Zars, H. LaFerriere, Y.-C. Chen, A. Sable-Smith, T. Kitamoto, G. E. Rottinghaus, and T. Zars (2008)
PNAS
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Resting Microglial Motility Is Independent of Synaptic Plasticity in Mammalian Brain.
P. J. Sjostrom, E. A. Rancz, A. Roth, and M. Hausser (2008)
Physiol Rev
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Reviews: BDNF and Memory Formation and Storage.
P. Bekinschtein, M. Cammarota, I. Izquierdo, and J. H. Medina (2008)
Neuroscientist
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Bisphenol A Prevents the Synaptogenic Response to Testosterone in the Brain of Adult Male Rats.
C. Leranth, K. Szigeti-Buck, N. J. MacLusky, and T. Hajszan (2008)
Endocrinology
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Synaptic Protein Degradation Underlies Destabilization of Retrieved Fear Memory.
S.-H. Lee, J.-H. Choi, N. Lee, H.-R. Lee, J.-I. Kim, N.-K. Yu, S.-L. Choi, S.-H. Lee, H. Kim, and B.-K. Kaang (2008)
Science
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Principles of Experience-Dependent Neural Plasticity: Implications for Rehabilitation After Brain Damage.
Regulation of Serotonin Biosynthesis by the G Proteins G{alpha}o and G{alpha}q Controls Serotonin Signaling in Caenorhabditis elegans.
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Transient Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Activation Is Confined to a Narrow Temporal Window Required for the Induction of Two-Trial Long-Term Memory in Aplysia.
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Multifunctional Role of Protein Kinase C in Regulating the Formation and Maturation of Specific Synapses.
The effect of the NMDA receptor antagonist MK-801 on the acquisition and extinction of learned fear in the developing rat.
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Caloric Restriction Increases Learning Consolidation and Facilitates Synaptic Plasticity through Mechanisms Dependent on NR2B Subunits of the NMDA Receptor.
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Serotonin Induces Memory-Like, Rapamycin-Sensitive Hyperexcitability in Sensory Axons of Aplysia That Contributes to Injury Responses.
Sustained Structural Change of GABAA Receptor-Associated Protein Underlies Long-Term Potentiation at Inhibitory Synapses on a Cerebellar Purkinje Neuron.
Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors Enhance Memory and Synaptic Plasticity via CREB: CBP-Dependent Transcriptional Activation.
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Association of the Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Val66Met Polymorphism With Reduced Hippocampal Volumes in Major Depression.
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