2011 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
The molecular mechanisms of spacing effect
| Project/Area Number |
21500318
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Neuroscience in general
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| Research Institution | 財団法人東京都医学総合研究所 (2011)
Tokyo Metropolitan Organization for Medical Research (2009-2010) |
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Principal Investigator |
MIYASHITA Tomoyuki 財団法人東京都医学総合研究所, 運動・感覚システム研究分野, 主任研究員 (70270668)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2009 – 2011
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| Keywords | Spacing effect / MAPK / CREB / c-fos / drosophila |
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| Research Abstract |
Memory formed after spaced training, repeated training with rest intervals between each training, is more stable than memory formed after massed training, repeated training without rest intervals. This "spacing effect" on memory was reported more than 100 yrs ago. However, it is still not clear why rest intervals strengthen memory. In Drosophila, spaced training produces CREB-dependent long-term memory(LTM) whereas, massed training suppresses LTM. Therefore, we examined spacing effect on expressions of CREB and c-fos, an upstream transcription factor of CREB. We found significant increase in expressions of CREB and c-fos during spaced training but not massed training. Transcriptional activity of c-fos is activated by ERK, which is activated by MEK-dependent phosphorylation. We also found significant increase in phosphorylation of ERK during spaced training. Interestingly, however, ERK phosphorylation was increased during each rest intervals and decreased during each training period. MEK inhibitors exclusively impaired LTM formation. These results suggest that rest intervals of spaced training is required for activation of ERK.
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Research Products
(10 results)
