A critical role of protein modifications such as phosphorylation and acetylation in synaptic plasticity and memory is well documented. Tyrosine sulfation plays important roles in several biological processes. However, its role in synaptic plasticity and memory is not well understood. Here, we show that sulfation contributes to long-term…

The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is known to be critical for specific forms of long-term recognition memory, however the cellular mechanisms in the mPFC that underpin memory maintenance have not been well characterized. This study examined the importance of phosphorylation of cAMP responsive element binding protein (CREB) in the mPFC for…

Training "Aplysia" with inedible food for a period that is too brief to produce long-term memory becomes effective in producing memory when training is paired with a nitric oxide (NO) donor. Lip stimulation for the same period of time paired with an NO donor is ineffective. Using qPCR, we examined molecular correlates of brief training…

Abilities to encode and remember events in their spatiotemporal context (episodic memory) rely on brain regions that mature late during childhood and are supported by sleep. We compared the temporal dynamics of episodic memory formation and the role of sleep in this process between 62 children (8-12 years) and 57 adults (18-37 years). Subjects…

The absence of a2* nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) in oriens lacunosum moleculare (OLM) GABAergic interneurons ablate the facilitation of nicotine-induced hippocampal CA1 long-term potentiation and impair memory. The current study delineated whether genetic mutations of a2* nAChRs ("Chrna2"[superscript L9'S/L9'S] and…

The current dogma suggests that the formation of long-term memory (LTM) is dependent on protein synthesis but persistence of the memory trace is not. However, many of the studies examining the effect of protein synthesis inhibitors (PSIs) on LTM persistence were performed in the hippocampus, which is known to have a time-dependent role in memory…

The present study explored the origins of word learning in early infancy. Using event-related potentials (ERP) we monitored the brain activity of 3-month-old infants when they were repeatedly exposed to several initially novel words paired consistently with each the same initially novel objects or inconsistently with different objects. Our results…

Massed training is less effective for long-term memory formation than the spaced training. The role of acetylation in synaptic plasticity and memory is now well established. However, the role of this important protein modification in synaptic plasticity induced by massed pattern of stimulation or memory induced by massed training is not well…

This article aims to highlight the challenges faced by schools when addressing a wide range of learning needs--specifically English language learners (ELL) and students with exceptionalities. Both populations of students have a history of being isolated rather than included with sameaged peers due to non-traditional learning profiles. Many…

Humans routinely use past experience with complexity to deal with novel, challenging circumstances. This fundamental aspect of real-world behavior has received surprisingly little attention in animal studies, and the underlying brain mechanisms are unknown. The present experiments tested for transfer from past experience in rats and then used…

With memory encoding reliant on persistent changes in the properties of synapses, a key question is how can memories be maintained from days to months or a lifetime given molecular turnover? It is likely that positive feedback loops are necessary to persistently maintain the strength of synapses that participate in encoding. Such feedback may…

The formation of long-term memory requires signaling from the synapse to the nucleus to mediate neuronal activity-dependent gene transcription. Synapse-to-nucleus communication is initiated by influx of calcium ions through synaptic NMDA receptors and/or L-type voltage-gated calcium channels and involves the activation of transcription factors by…

To test the hypothesis that thalamic midline nuclei play a transient role in memory consolidation, we reanalyzed a prospective functional MRI study, contrasting recent and progressively more remote memory retrieval. We revealed a transient thalamic connectivity increase with the hippocampus, the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), and a…

Memories that last a lifetime are thought to be stored, at least in part, as persistent enhancement of the strength of particular synapses. The synaptic mechanism of these persistent changes, late long-term potentiation (L-LTP), depends on the state and number of specific synaptic proteins. Synaptic proteins, however, have limited dwell times due…

Here we examine the role of the exchange protein directly activated by cAMP (Epac) in ß-adrenergic-dependent associative odor preference learning in rat pups. Bulbar Epac agonist (8-pCPT-2-O-Me-cAMP, or 8-pCPT) infusions, paired with odor, initiated preference learning, which was selective for the paired odor. Interestingly, pairing odor with Epac…