Strong evidence supports a role for protein degradation in fear memory formation. However, these data have been largely done in only male animals. Here, we found that following contextual fear conditioning, females, but not males, had increased levels of proteasome activity and K48 polyubiquitin protein targeting in the dorsal hippocampus, the…

Intra-individual response time variability (IIRTV) during cognitive performance is increasingly recognized as an important indicator of attentional control (AC) and related brain region function. However, what determinants contribute to preschoolers' IIRTV received little attention. The present study explored the interaction of dopaminergic…

The spatial and temporal coordination of growth factor signaling is critical for both presynaptic and postsynaptic plasticity underlying long-term memory formation. We investigated the spatiotemporal dynamics of "Aplysia" cysteine-rich neurotrophic factor (ApCRNF) signaling during the induction of activity-dependent long-term…

In neurons, mRNAs can be repressed postinitiation and assembled into granules enabling the transport and later, regulated reactivation of the paused mRNAs. It has been suggested that a large percentage of transcripts in neuronal processes are stored in these stalled polysomes. Given this, it is predicted that nascent peptides should be abundant in…

Formation of long-term synaptic plasticity that underlies long-term memory requires new protein synthesis. Years of research has elucidated some of the transcriptional and translational mechanisms that contribute to the production of new proteins. Early research on transcription focused on the transcription factor cAMP-responsive element binding…

We characterized the transcriptional response accompanying maintenance of long-term sensitization (LTS) memory in the pleural ganglia of "Aplysia californica" using microarray (N = 8) and qPCR (N = 11 additional samples). We found that 24 h after memory induction there is strong regulation of 1198 transcripts (748 up and 450 down) in a…

The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) plays a critical role in complex brain functions including decision-making, integration of emotional, and cognitive aspects in memory processing and memory consolidation. Because relatively little is known about the molecular mechanisms underlying its development, we quantified rat mPFC basal expression levels…

Nonprotein coding dendritic BC1 RNA regulates translation of mRNAs in neurons. We examined two lines of BC1 knockout mice and report that loss of BC1 RNA exaggerates group I mGluR-stimulated LTD of the Schaffer collateral synapse, with one of the lines showing a much more enhanced DHPG-induced LTD than the other. When the animals were given the…

We investigated the in vivo role of protein degradation during intermediate (ITM) and long-term memory (LTM) in "Aplysia" using an operant learning paradigm. The proteasome inhibitor MG-132 inhibited the induction and molecular consolidation of LTM with no effect on ITM. Remarkably, maintenance of steady-state protein levels through…

The nature of neurochemical changes in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) remains controversial. We compared medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) neurochemistry of twenty high-functioning children and adolescents with ASD without associated comorbidities and fourteen controls. We observed reduced total N-acetylaspartate (tNAA) and total creatine, increased…

A complete understanding of the fundamental mechanisms of learning and memory continues to elude neuroscientists. Although many important discoveries have been made, the question of how memories are encoded and maintained at the molecular level remains. So far, this issue has been framed within the context of one of the most dominant concepts in…

Drugs of abuse cause changes in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and associated regions that impair inhibitory control over drug-seeking. Breaking the contingencies between drug-associated cues and the delivery of the reward during extinction learning reduces rates of relapse. Here we used vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) to induce targeted synaptic…

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) plays an important role in activity-dependent synaptic plasticity. Altered blood BDNF levels have been frequently identified in people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). There are however wide discrepancies in the evidence. Therefore, we performed the present systematic review and meta-analysis aimed at…

Here, we examine effects of the steroid hormone, 20-hydroxyecdysone (20-E), on associative olfactory learning in the honeybee, "Apis mellifera." 20-E impaired the bees' ability to associate odors with punishment during aversive conditioning, but did not interfere with their ability to associate odors with a food reward (appetitive…

We investigate whether the serotonin transporter-linked polymorphic region ("5HTTLPR"), a gene associated with environmental sensitivity, moderates the association between smoking and drinking patterns at adolescents' schools and their corresponding risk for smoking and drinking themselves. Drawing on the school-based design of the National…