Several lines of evidence indicate that long-term potentiation (LTP) is the substrate for commonplace forms of memory. Like memory, LTP has a consolidation phase such that it is easily disrupted for a short period after its induction but then becomes progressively more stable. Once consolidated, LTP can persist for a significant portion of the animal's lifespan. A great challenge for cellular accounts of LTP is to identify mechanisms that align with the time course of consolidation, have a logical relationship to enhanced transmission, and are still capable of producing changes of extraordinary longevity. The planned studies, which represent an extension of a previous grant, will test a specific hypothesis that appears to satisfy these constraints. The hypothesis involves integrins, a class of transmembrane proteins that connect the extracellular matrix to the intracellular cytoskeleton, and thereby generate the adhesion junctions that anchor cells. Work by the applicants and others identified several different integrins in synapses (the brain's primary adhesion junctions) and further showed that a certain number of these play a critical role in LTP consolidation. The proposed studies will test for the following sequence in hippocampus: a) the triggering events for LTP activate integrins, which then b) modify synaptic glutamate receptors and c) reorganize the actin cytoskeleton. The last of these events is known from non-neural systems to be capable of producing extremely stable changes.
Four specific aims will be used to test the integrin/LTP stabilization hypothesis.
Aim One will determine if stimulation of glutamate receptors increases integrin signaling by converting integrins from a quiescent to an active state and/or increasing their surface expression.
Aim Two will determine if up-regulation of glutamate receptors by integrins a) includes increased AMPA receptor surface expression and b) is dependent upon changes in the actin network.
Aim Three will test if actin polymerization in adult spines, an effect recently found by the applicants to accompany LTP, is initiated by integrins.
Aim Four will determine if reversal of recently induced LTP by low frequency stimulation is due to an adenosine-mediated block of actin polymerization. The results of these experiments are expected to provide a strong test of a specific hypothesis regarding how LTP, and therefore possibly memory, becomes consolidated.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
2R01NS051823-04A1
Application #
6985725
Study Section
Neurobiology of Learning and Memory Study Section (LAM)
Program Officer
Talley, Edmund M
Project Start
1999-12-01
Project End
2009-06-30
Budget Start
2005-07-15
Budget End
2006-05-31
Support Year
4
Fiscal Year
2005
Total Cost
$281,466
Indirect Cost
Name
University of California Irvine
Department
Psychiatry
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
046705849
City
Irvine
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
92697
Kramár, E A; Babayan, A H; Gall, C M et al. (2013) Estrogen promotes learning-related plasticity by modifying the synaptic cytoskeleton. Neuroscience 239:3-16
Kramár, Enikö A; Chen, Lulu Y; Lauterborn, Julie C et al. (2012) BDNF upregulation rescues synaptic plasticity in middle-aged ovariectomized rats. Neurobiol Aging 33:708-19
Lynch, Gary; Palmer, Linda C; Gall, Christine M (2011) The likelihood of cognitive enhancement. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 99:116-29
Baudry, Michel; Bi, Xiaoning; Gall, Christine et al. (2011) The biochemistry of memory: The 26year journey of a 'new and specific hypothesis'. Neurobiol Learn Mem 95:125-33
Simmons, Danielle A; Mehta, Rishi A; Lauterborn, Julie C et al. (2011) Brief ampakine treatments slow the progression of Huntington's disease phenotypes in R6/2 mice. Neurobiol Dis 41:436-44
Ivy, Autumn S; Rex, Christopher S; Chen, Yuncai et al. (2010) Hippocampal dysfunction and cognitive impairments provoked by chronic early-life stress involve excessive activation of CRH receptors. J Neurosci 30:13005-15
Jia, Yousheng; Gall, Christine M; Lynch, Gary (2010) Presynaptic BDNF promotes postsynaptic long-term potentiation in the dorsal striatum. J Neurosci 30:14440-5
Kramár, Enikö A; Chen, Lulu Y; Brandon, Nicholas J et al. (2009) Cytoskeletal changes underlie estrogen's acute effects on synaptic transmission and plasticity. J Neurosci 29:12982-93
Simmons, Danielle A; Rex, Christopher S; Palmer, Linda et al. (2009) Up-regulating BDNF with an ampakine rescues synaptic plasticity and memory in Huntington's disease knockin mice. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 106:4906-11
Rex, Christopher S; Colgin, Laura L; Jia, Yousheng et al. (2009) Origins of an intrinsic hippocampal EEG pattern. PLoS One 4:e7761

Showing the most recent 10 out of 21 publications