[Abstract Title]. - Society for Neuroscience

Authors: E. CASTRO, J. Y. LAGUNA-TORRES, I. J. SANTOS SOTO, Y. GOENAGA, C.
LAGO, H. G. ORTIZ ZUAZAGA, *S. PENA DE ORTIZ;
Dept Biol, Univ. Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Abstract: We assess here the importance of genomic rearrangement mechanisms in
consolidation of hippocampal dependent learning. Our overarching hypothesis is that long-term
memory formation involves a regulatory mechanism of DNA recombination in the hippocampus
that includes the activation of effector molecules, such as DNA ligases, and the rearrangement of
specific target genes. Using context fear conditioning as a model of learning in C57BL/6 mice,
our main goal is to study genetic changes associated to DNA rearrangements and their impact on
hippocampal dependent memory formation and synaptogenesis. Our previous studies using
pharmacological blockade of DNA ligase function, showed that this treatment specifically
blocked consolidation of context fear conditioning without interfering short-term memory or
reconsolidation (Colón-Cesario et al., 2006). The present studies have determined that similar
treatments block remote memory of context fear conditioning and impair hippocampal
synaptogenesis. These studies are being followed up by experiments aimed at identifying the
genes that are subject to DNA recombination as a result of conditioning. Our results so far
suggest that context fear conditioning results in associative learning-specific changes in
hippocampal gene expression, some of which may be associated to genomic diversification
processes in the brain.
Disclosures: E. Castro, None; J.Y. Laguna-Torres, None; I.J. Santos Soto, None; Y.
Goenaga, None; C. Lago, None; H.G. Ortiz Zuazaga, None; S. Pena de Ortiz , None.
Poster
295. Memory Consolidation, Reconsolidation, Anatomy, and Mechanisms
Time: Sunday, November 16, 2008, 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Program#/Poster#: 295.24/TT2
Topic: F.02.h. Memory modulation, consolidation, and reconsolidation
Support: NIH
RIKEN
Title: Creation of a transgenic mouse line lacking NMDA receptor subunit 1 in layer III
pyramidal neurons of the entorhinal cortex
Authors: A. RIVEST 1 , J. SUH 1,3,4 , *S. TONEGAWA 2,3,4 ;
1 Picower Inst. Memory & Learning, 2 Dir, Picower Inst. Memory & Learning, Massachusetts Inst.