Neuronal Competition and Selection during Memory Formation

Competition between neurons is necessary for refining neural circuits during development and may be important for selecting the neurons that participate in encoding memories in the adult brain. To examine neuronal competition during memory formation, we conducted experiments with mice in which we ma...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2007-04, Vol.316 (5823), p.457-460
Main Authors: Han, Jin-Hee, Kushner, Steven A., Yiu, Adelaide P., Cole, Christy J., Matynia, Anna, Brown, Robert A., Neve, Rachael L., Guzowski, John F., Silva, Alcino J., Josselyn, Sheena A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adults
Amygdala - physiology
Anatomical correlates of behavior
Animals
Behavioral neuroscience
Behavioral psychophysiology
Biological and medical sciences
Biological competition
Brain
Cellular biology
Competition
Conditioning (Psychology)
Cyclic AMP Response Element-Binding Protein - genetics
Cyclic AMP Response Element-Binding Protein - metabolism
Cytoskeletal Proteins - genetics
Cytoskeletal Proteins - metabolism
Fear
Freezing
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Genetic Vectors
Memory
Memory - physiology
Memory disorders
Memory trace
Mice
Nerve Tissue Proteins - genetics
Nerve Tissue Proteins - metabolism
Neuronal Plasticity
Neurons
Neurons - metabolism
Neurons - physiology
Neurosciences
Proteins
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Rodents
Transcription, Genetic
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Summary:Competition between neurons is necessary for refining neural circuits during development and may be important for selecting the neurons that participate in encoding memories in the adult brain. To examine neuronal competition during memory formation, we conducted experiments with mice in which we manipulated the function of CREB (adenosine 3′,5′-monophosphate response element--binding protein) in subsets of neurons. Changes in CREB function influenced the probability that individual lateral amygdala neurons were recruited into a fear memory trace. Our results suggest a competitive model underlying memory formation, in which eligible neurons are selected to participate in a memory trace as a function of their relative CREB activity at the time of learning.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.1139438