Structural Components of Synaptic Plasticity and Memory Consolidation
- 1Department of Neuroscience, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, New York, New York 10027
- 2New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, New York 10032
- 3Kavli Institute for Brain Sciences, New York, New York 10032
- 4Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, Maryland 20815-6789
- 5Department of Neuroscience, Center for Learning and Memory, Institute for Neuroscience, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712-0805
- Correspondence: chb1{at}columbia.edu
Abstract
Consolidation of implicit memory in the invertebrate Aplysia and explicit memory in the mammalian hippocampus are associated with remodeling and growth of preexisting synapses and the formation of new synapses. Here, we compare and contrast structural components of the synaptic plasticity that underlies these two distinct forms of memory. In both cases, the structural changes involve time-dependent processes. Thus, some modifications are transient and may contribute to early formative stages of long-term memory, whereas others are more stable, longer lasting, and likely to confer persistence to memory storage. In addition, we explore the possibility that trans-synaptic signaling mechanisms governing de novo synapse formation during development can be reused in the adult for the purposes of structural synaptic plasticity and memory storage. Finally, we discuss how these mechanisms set in motion structural rearrangements that prepare a synapse to strengthen the same memory and, perhaps, to allow it to take part in other memories as a basis for understanding how their anatomical representation results in the enhanced expression and storage of memories in the brain.
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