Neuronal responses related to long-term recognition memory processes in prefrontal cortex

HIV-1 Tat protein alters medial prefrontal cortex neuronal activity and recognition memory

Despite advancements in combined antiretroviral therapy, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND) continue to affect 40%-50% of people living with HIV. While neuroimaging studies have revealed HIV-1-induced alterations in cortical networks and brain macrostructures, it still remains unclear how individual neurons in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) are affected during recognition memory. Using in vivo calcium imaging in an HIV-1 transactivator of transcription (Tat) transgenic mouse model, we examined mPFC neuronal activity during a novel object recognition memory task. Our findings show that HIV Tat expression reduces overall neuronal activity in Tat(+) mice without altering the number of activated cells. Moreover, distinct neuronal subpopulations are up- and downmodulated in both Tat(-) and Tat(+) mice depending on object exploration. Importantly, familiarity-driven increases in mPFC activity were disrupted by HIV Tat expression. These findings enhance our understanding of HAND and may inform future pharmacological strategies aimed at restoring cognitive function.

Environmental Enrichment Improves the Recognition Memory in Adult Mice Following Social Isolation via Downregulation of Kv4.2 Potassium Channels

Recognition memory is a cognitive process that enables us to distinguish familiar objects and situations from new items, which is essential for mammalian survival and adaptation to a changing environment. Social isolation (SI) has been implicated as a detrimental factor for recognition memory. The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) has been shown to carry information concerning the relative familiarity of individual stimuli, and modulating neuronal function in this region may contribute to recognition memory. The present study aimed to investigate the neuronal mechanisms in the mPFC of environmental enrichment (EE) on recognition memory in adult mice following SI. Mice were assigned into three groups: control, SI, and SI + EE groups. Novel location recognition (NLR) and novel object recognition (NOR) tests were performed to evaluate the recognition memory. The levels of Kv4 channels were assessed by qRT-PCR and western blotting. The effects of SI and SI + EE on the excitability of pyramidal neurons in the mPFC were measured using whole-cell recording. We found that SI led to a reduction in the excitability of pyramidal neurons. Specifically, we have identified that the reduction in the firing activity of pyramidal neurons resulted from alterations in the function and expression of Kv4.2 channels. Furthermore, EE regulated Kv4.2 channels, normalized the activity of pyramidal neurons, and restored the behavioral deficits following SI. Thus, the roles of Kv4.2 channels in excitability of pyramidal neurons suggest that the Kv4.2 channels present a promising therapeutic target for recognition memory impairment.

Decreased medial prefrontal cortex activity related to impaired novel object preference task performance following GALR2 and Y1R agonists intranasal infusion

Different brain regions' interactions have been implicated in relevant neurological diseases, such as major depressive disorder (MDD), anxiety disorders, age-dependent cognitive decline, Alzheimer's disease (AD) and addiction. We aim to explore the role of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) in the Neuropeptide Y (NPY) and Galanin (GAL) interaction since we have demonstrated specific NPY and GAL interactions in brain areas related to these brain diseases. We performed GALR2 and Y1R agonists intranasal infusion and analyzed the mPFC activation through c-Fos expression. To assess the associated cellular mechanism we studied the formation of Y1R-GALR2 heteroreceptor complexes with in situ proximity ligation assay (PLA) and the expression of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Moreover, the functional outcome of the NPY and GAL interaction on the mPFC was evaluated in the novel object preference task. We demonstrated that the intranasal administration of both agonists decrease the medial prefrontal cortex activation as shown with the c-Fos expression. These effects were mediated by the decreased formation of Y1R-GALR2 heteroreceptor complexes without affecting the BDNF expression. The functional outcome of this interaction was related to an impaired performance on the novel object preference task. Our data may suggest the translational development of new heterobivalent agonist pharmacophores acting on Y1R-GALR2 heterocomplexes in the medial prefrontal cortex for the novel therapy on neurodegenerative and psychiatric diseases. DATA SHARING AND DATA ACCESSIBILITY: The data that support the findings of this study are openly available in Institutional repository of the University of Malaga (RIUMA) and from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Benefit from retrieval practice is linked to temporal and frontal activity in healthy young and older humans

Retrieval practice improves retention of information in long-term memory more than restudy, but the underlying neural mechanisms of this "retrieval practice effect" (RPE) remain poorly understood. Therefore, we investigated the behavioral and neural differences between previously retrieved versus restudied items at final retrieval. Thirty younger (20-30 years old) and twenty-five older (50+ years old) adults learned familiar and new picture stimuli either through retrieval or restudy. At final recognition, hemodynamic activity was measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Behaviorally, younger and older adults showed similar benefits of retrieval practice, with higher recollection, but unchanged familiarity rates. In a univariate analysis of the fMRI data, activation in medial prefrontal cortex and left temporal regions correlated with an individual's amount of behavioral benefit from retrieval practice, irrespective of age. Compatible with this observation, in a multivariate representational similarity analysis (RSA), retrieval practice led to an increase in pattern similarity for retested items in a priori defined regions of interest, including the medial temporal lobe, as well as prefrontal and parietal cortex. Our findings demonstrate that retrieval practice leads to enhanced long-term memories in younger and older adults alike, and this effect may be driven by fast consolidation processes.

Seizure Frequency Is Associated with Effective Connectivity of the Hippocampal-Diencephalic-Cingulate in Epilepsy with Unilateral Mesial Temporal Sclerosis

Background: Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) with mesial temporal sclerosis (MTS) is a common intractable epilepsy. To seek neural correlates of seizure recurrence, this study investigated aberrant intrinsic effective connectivity (iEC) in TLE with unilateral MTS and their associations with seizure frequency. Methods: Thirty patients with unilateral MTS (left/right MTS = 14/16) and 37 age-matched healthy controls underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) on a 3-Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system. The structural equation modeling was employed to estimate the iEC of the three candidate epilepsy models, including the Papez circuit, hippocampal-diencephalic-cingulate (HDC) model, and simplified HDC model. After comparing the performance of model fitting, the best model was selected to compare iEC among the study groups. The linear regression analysis was performed to associate abnormal iEC with seizure frequency. Results: The simplified HDC model was the best model to estimate iEC across the three study groups (p < 0.05), and it composed of the 26 interconnected pathway between the mesial temporal lobe, thalamus, and cingulate cortices. The linear regression analysis revealed a significant relationship between the shared iEC alterations in both patient groups and seizure frequency (adjusted-R² = 0.350; p = 0.037), including the three paths of mammillary body (MB) → bilateral anterior thalamic nuclei (left: standardized β-value = 0.580, p = 0.013; right: standardized β-value = -0.711, p = 0.006) and right hippocampus → MB (standardized β-value = 0.541, p = 0.045). Conclusions: Our findings provide new insights into neurophysiological significance relevant to seizure recurrence. Aberrant iEC on the neural paths connected to the MB can be a potential imaging marker, aiding the therapeutic management in TLE with unilateral MTS. Impact statement Within the simplified hippocampal-diencephalic-cingulate model, we identified that altered intrinsic effective connectivity (iEC) on the three paths connecting to the mammillary body was common in temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) with left and right mesial temporal sclerosis (MTS) and was associated with seizure frequency. Therefore, these common iEC alterations could be a potential imaging marker, aiding the therapeutic management in patients with TLE with unilateral MTS.

Mechanisms underlying sharpening of visual response dynamics with familiarity

Experience-dependent modifications of synaptic connections are thought to change patterns of network activities and stimulus tuning with learning. However, only a few studies explored how synaptic plasticity shapes the response dynamics of cortical circuits. Here, we investigated the mechanism underlying sharpening of both stimulus selectivity and response dynamics with familiarity observed in monkey inferotemporal cortex. Broadening the distribution of activities and stronger oscillations in the response dynamics after learning provide evidence for synaptic plasticity in recurrent connections modifying the strength of positive feedback. Its interplay with slow negative feedback via firing rate adaptation is critical in sharpening response dynamics. Analysis of changes in temporal patterns also enables us to disentangle recurrent and feedforward synaptic plasticity and provides a measure for the strengths of recurrent synaptic plasticity. Overall, this work highlights the importance of analyzing changes in dynamics as well as network patterns to further reveal the mechanisms of visual learning.

Frontal and Insular Input to the Dorsolateral Temporal Pole in Primates: Implications for Auditory Memory

The temporal pole (TP) has been involved in multiple functions from emotional and social behavior, semantic processing, memory, language in humans and epilepsy surgery, to the fronto-temporal neurodegenerative disorder (semantic) dementia. However, the role of the TP subdivisions is still unclear, in part due to the lack of quantitative data about TP connectivity. This study focuses in the dorsolateral subdivision of the TP: area 38_DL. Area 38_DL main input originates in the auditory processing areas of the rostral superior temporal gyrus. Among other connections, area 38_DL conveys this auditory highly processed information to the entorhinal, rostral perirhinal, and posterior parahippocampal cortices, presumably for storage in long-term memory (Muñoz-López et al., 2015). However, the connections of the TP with cortical areas beyond the temporal cortex suggest that this area is part of a wider network. With the aim to quantitatively determine the topographical, laminar pattern and weighting of the lateral TP afferents from the frontal and insular cortices, we placed a total of 11 tracer injections of the fluorescent retrograde neuronal tracers Fast Blue and Diamidino Yellow at different levels of the lateral TP in rhesus monkeys. The results showed that circa 50% of the total cortical input to area 38_DL originates in medial frontal areas 14, 25, 32, and 24 (25%); orbitofrontal areas Pro and PAll (15%); and the agranular, parainsular and disgranular insula (10%). This study sets the anatomical bases to better understand the function of the dorsolateral division of the TP. More specifically, these results suggest that area 38_DL forms part of the wider limbic circuit that might contribute, among other functions, with an auditory component to multimodal memory processing.

Hippocampal - diencephalic - cingulate networks for memory and emotion: An anatomical guide

This review brings together current knowledge from tract tracing studies to update and reconsider those limbic connections initially highlighted by Papez (1937) for their presumed role in emotion. These connections link hippocampal and parahippocampal regions with the mammillary bodies, the anterior thalamic nuclei, and the cingulate gyrus, all structures now strongly implicated in memory functions. An additional goal of this review is to describe the routes taken by the various connections within this network. The original descriptions of these limbic connections saw their interconnecting pathways forming a serial circuit that began and finished in the hippocampal formation. It is now clear that, with the exception of the mammillary bodies, these various sites are multiply interconnected with each other, including many reciprocal connections. In addition, these same connections are topographically organised, creating further subsystems. This complex pattern of connectivity helps to explain the difficulty of interpreting the functional outcome of damage to any individual site within the network. For these same reasons, Papez' initial concept of a loop beginning and ending in the hippocampal formation needs to be seen as a much more complex system of hippocampal-diencephalic-cingulate connections. The functions of these multiple interactions might be better viewed as principally providing efferent information from the posterior medial temporal lobe. Both a subcortical diencephalic route (via the fornix) and a cortical cingulate route (via retrosplenial cortex) can be distinguished. These routes provide indirect pathways for hippocampal interactions with prefrontal cortex, with the preponderance of both sets of connections arising from the more posterior hippocampal regions. These multi-stage connections complement the direct hippocampal projections to prefrontal cortex, which principally arise from the anterior hippocampus, thereby creating longitudinal functional differences along the anterior-posterior plane of the hippocampus.

Role of the anterior cingulate cortex in the retrieval of novel object recognition memory after a long delay

Previous in vivo electrophysiological studies suggest that the anterior cingulate cortex (ACgx) is an important substrate of novel object recognition (NOR) memory. However, intervention studies are needed to confirm this conclusion and permanent lesion studies cannot distinguish effects on encoding and retrieval. The interval between encoding and retrieval tests may also be a critical determinant of the role of the ACgx. The current series of experiments used micro-infusion of the GABA_A receptor agonist, muscimol, into ACgx to reversibly inactivate the area and distinguish its role in encoding and retrieval. ACgx infusions of muscimol, before encoding did not alter NOR assessed after a delay of 20 min or 24 h. However, when infused into the ACgx before retrieval muscimol impaired NOR assessed after a delay of 24 h, but not after a 20-min retention test. Together these findings suggest that the ACgx plays a time-dependent role in the retrieval, but not the encoding, of NOR memory, neuronal activation being required for the retrieval of remote (24 h old), but not recent (20 min old) visual memory.

Dopamine dysregulation in the prefrontal cortex relates to cognitive deficits in the sub-chronic PCP-model for schizophrenia: A preliminary investigation

RATIONALE

Dopamine dysregulation in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) plays an important role in cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia. Sub-chronic phencyclidine (scPCP) treatment produces cognitive impairments in rodents and is a thoroughly validated animal model for cognitive deficits in schizophrenia. The aim of our study was to investigate the role of PFC dopamine in scPCP-induced deficits in a cognitive task of relevance to the disorder, novel object recognition (NOR).

METHODS

Twelve adult female Lister Hooded rats received scPCP (2 mg/kg) or vehicle via the intraperitoneal route twice daily for 7 days, followed by 7 days washout. In vivo microdialysis was carried out prior to, during and following the NOR task.

RESULTS

Vehicle rats successfully discriminated between novel and familiar objects and this was accompanied by a significant increase in dopamine in the PFC during the retention trial ( p < 0.01). scPCP produced a significant deficit in NOR ( p < 0.05 vs. control) and no PFC dopamine increase was observed.

CONCLUSIONS

These data demonstrate an increase in dopamine during the retention trial in vehicle rats that was not observed in scPCP-treated rats accompanied by cognitive disruption in the scPCP group. This novel finding suggests a mechanism by which cognitive deficits are produced in this animal model and support its use for investigating disorders in which PFC dopamine is central to the pathophysiology.

Contrasting roles for DNA methyltransferases and histone deacetylases in single-item and associative recognition memory

Recognition memory enables us to judge whether we have encountered a stimulus before and to recall associated information, including where the stimulus was encountered. The perirhinal cortex (PRh) is required for judgment of stimulus familiarity, while hippocampus (HPC) and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) are additionally involved when spatial information associated with a stimulus needs to be remembered. While gene expression is known to be essential for the consolidation of long-term recognition memory, the underlying regulatory mechanisms are not fully understood. Here we investigated the roles of two epigenetic mechanisms, DNA methylation and histone deacetylation, in recognition memory. Infusion of DNA methyltransferase inhibitors into PRh impaired performance in novel object recognition and object-in-place tasks while infusions into HPC or mPFC impaired object-in-place performance only. In contrast, inhibition of histone deacetylases in PRh, but not mPFC, enhanced recognition memory. These results support the emerging role of epigenetic processes in learning and memory.

Growth differentiation factor-15 promotes glutamate release in medial prefrontal cortex of mice through upregulation of T-type calcium channels

Growth differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15) has been implicated in ischemic brain injury and synapse development, but its involvement in modulating neuronal excitability and synaptic transmission remain poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the effects of GDF-15 on non-evoked miniature excitatory post-synaptic currents (mEPSCs) and neurotransmitter release in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) in mice. Incubation of mPFC slices with GDF-15 for 60 min significantly increased the frequency of mEPSCs without effect on their amplitude. GDF-15 also significantly elevated presynaptic glutamate release, as shown by HPLC. These effects were blocked by dual TGF-β type I receptor (TβRI) and TGF-β type II receptor (TβRII) antagonists, but not by a TβRI antagonist alone. Meanwhile, GDF-15 enhanced pERK level, and inhibition of MAPK/ERK activity attenuated the GDF-15-induced increases in mEPSC and glutamate release. Blocking T-type calcium channels reduced the GDF-15 induced up-regulation of synaptic transmission. Membrane-protein extraction and use of an intracellular protein-transport inhibitor showed that GDF-15 promoted Ca_V3.1 and Ca_V3.3 α-subunit expression by trafficking to the membrane. These results confirm previous findings in cerebellar granule neurons, in which GDF-15 induces its neurobiological effects via TβRII and activation of the ERK pathway, providing novel insights into the mechanism of GDF-15 function in cortical neurons.

Bidirectional Modulation of Recognition Memory

Perirhinal cortex (PER) has a well established role in the familiarity-based recognition of individual items and objects. For example, animals and humans with perirhinal damage are unable to distinguish familiar from novel objects in recognition memory tasks. In the normal brain, perirhinal neurons respond to novelty and familiarity by increasing or decreasing firing rates. Recent work also implicates oscillatory activity in the low-beta and low-gamma frequency bands in sensory detection, perception, and recognition. Using optogenetic methods in a spontaneous object exploration (SOR) task, we altered recognition memory performance in rats. In the SOR task, normal rats preferentially explore novel images over familiar ones. We modulated exploratory behavior in this task by optically stimulating channelrhodopsin-expressing perirhinal neurons at various frequencies while rats looked at novel or familiar 2D images. Stimulation at 30-40 Hz during looking caused rats to treat a familiar image as if it were novel by increasing time looking at the image. Stimulation at 30-40 Hz was not effective in increasing exploration of novel images. Stimulation at 10-15 Hz caused animals to treat a novel image as familiar by decreasing time looking at the image, but did not affect looking times for images that were already familiar. We conclude that optical stimulation of PER at different frequencies can alter visual recognition memory bidirectionally. Significance statement: Recognition of novelty and familiarity are important for learning, memory, and decision making. Perirhinal cortex (PER) has a well established role in the familiarity-based recognition of individual items and objects, but how novelty and familiarity are encoded and transmitted in the brain is not known. Perirhinal neurons respond to novelty and familiarity by changing firing rates, but recent work suggests that brain oscillations may also be important for recognition. In this study, we showed that stimulation of the PER could increase or decrease exploration of novel and familiar images depending on the frequency of stimulation. Our findings suggest that optical stimulation of PER at specific frequencies can predictably alter recognition memory.

Dopamine D1 receptor stimulation modulates the formation and retrieval of novel object recognition memory: Role of the prelimbic cortex

Previous studies have shown that dopamine D1 receptor antagonists impair novel object recognition memory but the effects of dopamine D1 receptor stimulation remain to be determined. This study investigated the effects of the selective dopamine D1 receptor agonist SKF81297 on acquisition and retrieval in the novel object recognition task in male Wistar rats. SKF81297 (0.4 and 0.8 mg/kg s.c.) given 15 min before the sampling phase impaired novel object recognition evaluated 10 min or 24 h later. The same treatments also reduced novel object recognition memory tested 24 h after the sampling phase and when given 15 min before the choice session. These data indicate that D1 receptor stimulation modulates both the encoding and retrieval of object recognition memory. Microinfusion of SKF81297 (0.025 or 0.05 μg/side) into the prelimbic sub-region of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) in this case 10 min before the sampling phase also impaired novel object recognition memory, suggesting that the mPFC is one important site mediating the effects of D1 receptor stimulation on visual recognition memory.

Neural circuitry for rat recognition memory

Information concerning the roles of different brain regions in recognition memory processes is reviewed. The review concentrates on findings from spontaneous recognition memory tasks performed by rats, including memory for single objects, locations, object-location associations and temporal order. Particular emphasis is given to the potential roles of different regions in the circuit of interacting structures involving the perirhinal cortex, hippocampus, medial prefrontal cortex and medial dorsal thalamus in recognition memory for the association of objects and places. It is concluded that while all structures in this circuit play roles critical to such memory, these roles can potentially be differentiated and differences in the underlying synaptic and biochemical processes involved in each region are beginning to be uncovered.

Tumor Necrosis Factor-α Underlies Loss of Cortical Dendritic Spine Density in a Mouse Model of Congestive Heart Failure

Background

Heart failure (HF) is a progressive disorder characterized by reduced cardiac output and increased peripheral resistance, ultimately leading to tissue perfusion deficits and devastating consequences for several organs including the brain. We previously described a tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)–dependent enhancement of posterior cerebral artery tone and concomitant reduced cerebral blood flow in a mouse model of early HF in which blood pressure remains minimally affected. HF is often associated with cognitive impairments such as memory deficits, even before any overt changes in brain structure and function occur. The pathophysiology underlying the development of cognitive impairments in HF is unknown, and appropriate treatment strategies are lacking.

Methods and Results

We used a well-established mouse model in which HF was induced by experimental myocardial infarction produced by permanent surgical ligation of the left anterior descending coronary artery (infarct size ≈25% of the left ventricular wall). Ligated mice developed enlarged hearts, congested lungs, and reduced cardiac output and blood pressure, with elevated peripheral resistance within 6 to 8 weeks after ligation. In this study, we demonstrated the significance of the proinflammatory cytokine TNF-α during HF-mediated neuroinflammation and associated impaired hippocampus-independent nonspatial episodic memory function. Augmented cerebral TNF-α expression and microglial activation in HF mice, indicative of brain inflammation, were accompanied by morphological changes and significant reduction of cortical dendritic spines (61.39±8.61% for basal and 61.04±9.18% for apical spines [P<0.001]). The significance of TNF-α signaling during the observed HF-mediated neurodegenerative processes is supported by evidence showing that sequestration or genetic deletion of TNF-α ameliorates the observed reduction of cortical dendritic spines (33.51±7.63% for basal and 30.13±6.98% for apical spines in wild-type mice treated with etanercept; 17.09±6.81% for basal and 17.21±7.29% for apical spines in TNF-α^−/−). Moreover, our data suggest that alterations in cerebral serum and glucocorticoid-inducible kinase 1 (SgK1) expression and phosphorylation during HF may be TNF-α dependent and that an increase of SgK1 phosphorylation potentially plays a role in the HF-associated reduction of dendritic spine density.

Conclusions

Our findings demonstrate that TNF-α plays a pivotal role in HF-mediated neuroinflammation and associated alterations of cortical dendritic spine density and has the potential to reveal novel treatment strategies for HF-associated memory deficits.

Frequency-specific hippocampal-prefrontal interactions during associative learning

Much of our knowledge of the world depends on learning associations (for example, face-name), for which the hippocampus (HPC) and prefrontal cortex (PFC) are critical. HPC-PFC interactions have rarely been studied in monkeys, whose cognitive and mnemonic abilities are akin to those of humans. We found functional differences and frequency-specific interactions between HPC and PFC of monkeys learning object pair associations, an animal model of human explicit memory. PFC spiking activity reflected learning in parallel with behavioral performance, whereas HPC neurons reflected feedback about whether trial-and-error guesses were correct or incorrect. Theta-band HPC-PFC synchrony was stronger after errors, was driven primarily by PFC to HPC directional influences and decreased with learning. In contrast, alpha/beta-band synchrony was stronger after correct trials, was driven more by HPC and increased with learning. Rapid object associative learning may occur in PFC, whereas HPC may guide neocortical plasticity by signaling success or failure via oscillatory synchrony in different frequency bands.

On the relationship between persistent delay activity, repetition enhancement and priming

Human efficiency in processing incoming stimuli (in terms of speed and/or accuracy) is typically enhanced by previous exposure to the same, or closely related stimuli—a phenomenon referred to as priming. In spite of the large body of knowledge accumulated in behavioral studies about the conditions conducive to priming, and its relationship with other forms of memory, the underlying neuronal correlates of priming are still under debate. The idea has repeatedly been advanced that a major neuronal mechanism supporting behaviorally-expressed priming is repetition suppression, a widespread reduction of spiking activity upon stimulus repetition which has been routinely exposed by single-unit recordings in non-human primates performing delayed-response, as well as passive fixation tasks. This proposal is mainly motivated by the observation that, in human fMRI studies, priming is associated to a significant reduction of the BOLD signal (widely interpreted as a proxy of the level of spiking activity) upon stimulus repetition. Here, we critically re-examine a large part of the electrophysiological literature on repetition suppression in non-human primates and find that repetition suppression is systematically accompanied by stimulus-selective delay period activity, together with repetition enhancement, an increase of spiking activity upon stimulus repetition in small neuronal populations. We argue that repetition enhancement constitutes a more viable candidate for a putative neuronal substrate of priming, and propose a minimal framework that links together, mechanistically and functionally, repetition suppression, stimulus-selective delay activity and repetition enhancement.

Memantine prevents memory consolidation failure induced by soluble beta amyloid in rats

It has been well documented that β-amyloid (Aβ) peptide accumulation and aggregation in the brain plays a crucial role in the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, a new orientation of the amyloid cascade hypothesis has evidenced that soluble forms of the peptide (sAβ) are involved in Aβ-induced cognitive impairment and cause rapid disruption of the synaptic mechanisms underlying memory. The primary aim of this study was to elucidate the effects of sAβ, acutely injected intracerebrally (i.c.v., 4 μM), on the short term and long term memory of young adult male rats, by using the novel object recognition task. Glutamatergic receptors have been proposed as mediating the effect of Aβ on synaptic plasticity and memory. Thus, we also investigated the effects of sAβ on prefrontal cortex (PFC) glutamate release and the specific contribution of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor modulation to the effects of sAβ administration on the cognitive parameters evaluated. We found that a single i.c.v. injection of sAβ 2 h before testing did not alter the ability of rats to differentiate between a familiar and a novel object, in a short term memory test, while it was able to negatively affect consolidation/retrieval of long term memory. Moreover, a significant increase of glutamate levels was found in PFC of rats treated with the peptide 2 h earlier. Interestingly, memory deficit induced by sAβ was reversed by a NMDA-receptor antagonist, memantine (5 mg/kg i.p), administered immediately after the familiarization trial (T1). On the contrary, memantine administered 30 min before T1 trial, was not able to rescue long term memory impairment. Taken together, our results suggest that an acute i.c.v. injection of sAβ peptide interferes with the consolidation/retrieval of long term memory. Moreover, such sAβ-induced effect indicates the involvement of glutamatergic system, proposing that NMDA receptor inhibition might prevent or lead to the recovery of early cognitive impairment.

From attention to memory along the dorsal-ventral axis of the medial prefrontal cortex: some methodological considerations

Distinctions along the dorsal-ventral axis of medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), between anterior cingulate (AC), prelimbic (PL), and infralimbic (IL) sub-regions, have been proposed on a variety of neuroanatomical and neurophysiological grounds. Conventional lesion approaches (as well as some electrophysiological studies) have shown that these distinctions relate to function in that a number behavioral dissociations have been demonstrated, particularly using rodent models of attention, learning, and memory. For example, there is evidence to suggest that AC has a relatively greater role in attention, whereas IL is more involved in executive function. However, the well-established methods of behavioral neuroscience have the limitation that neuromodulation is not addressed. The neurotoxin 6-hydroxydopamine has been used to deplete dopamine (DA) in mPFC sub-regions, but these lesions are not selective anatomically and noradrenalin is typically also depleted. Microinfusion of drugs through indwelling cannulae provides an alternative approach, to address the role of neuromodulation and moreover that of specific receptor subtypes within mPFC sub-regions, but the effects of such treatments cannot be assumed to be anatomically restricted either. New methodological approaches to the functional delineation of the role of mPFC in attention, learning and memory will also be considered. Taken in isolation, the conventional lesion methods which have been a first line of approach may suggest that a particular mPFC sub-region is not necessary for a particular aspect of function. However, this does not exclude a neuromodulatory role and more neuropsychopharmacological approaches are needed to explain some of the apparent inconsistencies in the results.

Two separate, but interacting, neural systems for familiarity and novelty detection: a dual-route mechanism

It has long been assumed that familiarity- and novelty-related processes fall on a single continuum drawing on the same cognitive and neural mechanisms. The possibility that familiarity and novelty processing involve distinct neural networks was explored in a functional magnetic resonance imaging study (fMRI), in which familiarity and novelty judgments were made in contexts emphasizing either familiarity or novelty decisions. Parametrically modulated BOLD responses to familiarity and novelty strength were isolated in two separate, nonoverlapping brain networks. The novelty system involved brain regions along the ventral visual stream, the hippocampus, and the perirhinal and parahippocampal cortices. The familiarity system, on the other hand, involved the dorsomedial thalamic nucleus, and regions within the medial prefrontal cortex and the medial and lateral parietal cortex. Convergence of the two networks, treating familiarity and novelty as a single continuum was only found in a fronto-parietal network. Finally, the orbitomedial prefrontal cortex was found to be sensitive to reported strength/confidence, irrespective of stimulus' familiarity or novelty. This pattern of results suggests a dual-route mechanism supported by the existence of two distinct but interacting functional systems for familiarity and novelty. Overall, these findings challenge current assumptions regarding the neural systems that support the processing of novel and familiar information, and have important implications for research into the neural bases of recognition memory.

What does the mediodorsal thalamus do?

Dense amnesia can result from damage to the medial diencephalon in humans and in animals. In humans this damage is diffuse and can include the mediodorsal nuclei of the thalamus. In animal models, lesion studies have confirmed the mediodorsal thalamus (MD) has a role in memory and other cognitive tasks, although the extent of deficits is mixed. Anatomical tracing studies confirm at least three different subgroupings of the MD: medial, central, and lateral, each differentially interconnected to the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Moreover, these subgroupings of the MD also receive differing inputs from other brain structures, including the basal ganglia thus the MD subgroupings form key nodes in interconnected frontal-striatal-thalamic neural circuits, integrating critical information within the PFC. We will provide a review of data collected from non-human primates and rodents after selective brain injury to the whole of the MD as well as these subgroupings to highlight the extent of deficits in various cognitive tasks. This research highlights the neural basis of memory and cognitive deficits associated with the subgroupings of the MD and their interconnected neural networks. The evidence shows that the MD plays a critical role in many varied cognitive processes. In addition, the MD is actively processing information and integrating it across these neural circuits for successful cognition. Having established that the MD is critical for memory and cognition, further research is required to understand how the MD specifically influences these cognitive processing carried out by the brain.

Recognition memory and synaptic plasticity in the perirhinal and prefrontal cortices

Work is reviewed that relates recognition memory to studies of synaptic plasticity mechanisms in perirhinal and prefrontal cortices. The aim is to consider evidence that perirhinal cortex and medial prefrontal cortex store rather than merely transmit information necessary for recognition memory and, if so, to consider what mechanisms are potentially available within these cortices for producing such storage through synaptic change. Interventions with known actions on plasticity mechanisms are reviewed in relation to their effects on recognition memory processes. These interventions importantly include those involving antagonism of glutamatergic and cholinergic receptors but also inhibition of plasticity consolidation and expression mechanisms. It is concluded that there is strong evidence that perirhinal cortex is involved in information storage necessary for object recognition memory and, moreover, that such storage involves synaptic weakening mechanisms including the removal of AMPA glutamate receptors from synapses. There is good evidence that medial prefrontal cortex is necessary for associative and temporal order recognition memory and that this cortex expresses plasticity mechanisms that potentially allow the storage of information. However, the case for medial prefrontal cortex acting as a store requires further support.

Serial position functions following selective hippocampal lesions in monkeys: effects of delays and interference

We examined the role of the hippocampus in list-memory processing. Three rhesus monkeys that had extensive experience in this task and had demonstrated full abstract-concept learning and excellent list memory performance (Katz et al., 2002; Wright et al., 2003) received bilateral neurotoxic hippocampal lesions and were re-tested in the serial list memory task. Effects of delays on memory performance were measured in all monkeys, whereas the effects of proactive interference were assessed in only one. Despite a slight change in performance of one of the three animals during re-learning of the same/different task, selective hippocampal damage had little or no effects on list memory accuracy. In addition, the hippocampal damage did not impact serial list position functions (SPFs) but slightly altered the dynamic of the SPF curves. Finally, even more remarkable was that accurate memory performance of one animal remained intact despite the use of small set size of 8 items that created high proactive interference across lists thereby eliminating any use of familiarity judgments to support performance. Together the findings indicate that, with short list items and extensive training in the task (i.e., reference memory), monkeys with selective hippocampal lesions may be able to use alternative memory processes (i.e., working memory) that are mediated by structures other than the hippocampus.

The medial dorsal thalamic nucleus and the medial prefrontal cortex of the rat function together to support associative recognition and recency but not item recognition

In humans recognition memory deficits, a typical feature of diencephalic amnesia, have been tentatively linked to mediodorsal thalamic nucleus (MD) damage. Animal studies have occasionally investigated the role of the MD in single-item recognition, but have not systematically analyzed its involvement in other recognition memory processes. In Experiment 1 rats with bilateral excitotoxic lesions in the MD or the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) were tested in tasks that assessed single-item recognition (novel object preference), associative recognition memory (object-in-place), and recency discrimination (recency memory task). Experiment 2 examined the functional importance of the interactions between the MD and mPFC using disconnection techniques. Unilateral excitotoxic lesions were placed in both the MD and the mPFC in either the same (MD + mPFC Ipsi) or opposite hemispheres (MD + mPFC Contra group). Bilateral lesions in the MD or mPFC impaired object-in-place and recency memory tasks, but had no effect on novel object preference. In Experiment 2 the MD + mPFC Contra group was significantly impaired in the object-in-place and recency memory tasks compared with the MD + mPFC Ipsi group, but novel object preference was intact. Thus, connections between the MD and mPFC are critical for recognition memory when the discriminations involve associative or recency information. However, the rodent MD is not necessary for single-item recognition memory.

Impairment in delayed nonmatching to sample following lesions of dorsal prefrontal cortex

The prefrontal cortex has been identified as essential for executive function, as well as for aspects of rule learning and recognition memory. As part of our studies to assess prefrontal cortical function in the monkey, we evaluated the effects of damage to the dorsal prefrontal cortex (DPFC) on the Category Set Shifting Task (CSST), a test of abstraction and set-shifting, and on the Delayed Nonmatching to Sample (DNMS) task, a benchmark test of rule learning and recognition memory. The DPFC lesions in this study included dorsolateral and dorsomedial aspects of the PFC. In a previous report, we published evidence of an impairment on the CSST as a consequence of DPFC lesions (Moore, Schettler, Killiany, Rosene, & Moss, 2009). Here we report that monkeys with lesions of the DPFC were also markedly impaired relative to controls on both the acquisition (rule learning) and performance (recognition memory) conditions of trial-unique DNMS. The presence and extent of the deficits that we observed were of some surprise and support the possibility that the dorsal prefrontal cortex plays a more direct role in learning and recognition memory than had been previously thought.

Conserved fMRI and LFP signals during new associative learning in the human and macaque monkey medial temporal lobe

We measured local field potential (LFP) and blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in the medial temporal lobes of monkeys and humans, respectively, as they performed the same conditional motor associative learning task. Parallel analyses were used to examine both data sets. Despite significantly faster learning in humans relative to monkeys, we found equivalent neural signals differentiating new versus highly familiar stimuli, first stimulus presentation, trial outcome, and learning strength in the entorhinal cortex and hippocampus of both species. Thus, the use of parallel behavioral tasks and analyses in monkeys and humans revealed conserved patterns of neural activity across the medial temporal lobe during an associative learning task.

Binary Willshaw learning yields high synaptic capacity for long-term familiarity memory

In this study, we investigate from a computational perspective the efficiency of the Willshaw synaptic update rule in the context of familiarity discrimination, a binary-answer, memory-related task that has been linked through psychophysical experiments with modified neural activity patterns in the prefrontal and perirhinal cortex regions. Our motivation for recovering this well-known learning prescription is two-fold: first, the switch-like nature of the induced synaptic bonds, as there is evidence that biological synaptic transitions might occur in a discrete stepwise fashion. Second, the possibility that in the mammalian brain, unused, silent synapses might be pruned in the long-term. Besides the usual pattern and network capacities, we calculate the synaptic capacity of the model, a recently proposed measure where only the functional subset of synapses is taken into account. We find that in terms of network capacity, Willshaw learning is strongly affected by the pattern coding rates, which have to be kept fixed and very low at any time to achieve a non-zero capacity in the large network limit. The information carried per functional synapse, however, diverges and is comparable to that of the pattern association case, even for more realistic moderately low activity levels that are a function of network size.

The effect of catecholaminergic depletion within the prelimbic and infralimbic medial prefrontal cortex on recognition memory for recency, location, and objects

There is good evidence that the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is involved in different aspects of recognition memory. However, the mPFC is a heterogeneous structure, and the contribution of the prelimbic (PL) and infralimbic (IL) cortices to recognition memory has not been investigated. Similarly, the role of different neuromodulators within the mPFC in these processes is poorly understood. To this end, we tested animals with 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) lesions of the PL and IL mPFC on three tests of object recognition memory that required judgments about recency, object location, and object identity. In the recency task, lesions to both PL and IL severely impaired animals' ability to differentiate between old (earlier presented) and recently presented familiar objects. Relative to sham and PL animals, the IL lesion also disrupted performance on the object location task. However, both lesions left novel object recognition intact. These data confirm previous reports that the mPFC is not required for discriminations based on the relative familiarity of individual objects. However, these results demonstrate that catecholamines within the PL cortex are crucial for relative recency judgments and suggest a possible role for neural processing within the IL in the integration of information about object location.

Evaluating the neural basis of temporal order memory for visual stimuli in the rat

Temporal order memory (memory for stimulus order) is crucial for discrimination between familiar objects and depends upon a neural circuit involving the perirhinal cortex (PRH) and medial pre-frontal cortex. This study examined the role of glutamatergic and cholinergic neurotransmission in the encoding or retrieval of temporal order memory, using a task requiring the animals to discriminate between two familiar objects presented at different intervals. 6-Cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline (CNQX) (AMPA/kainate receptor antagonist), scopolamine (muscarinic receptor antagonist) or 2-amino-5-phosphonopentanoic acid (AP5) (N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist) was administered before sample phase 2 (to be active during encoding) or before test (to be active during retrieval). Unilateral CNQX administration into the PRH and pre-limbic/infra-limbic cortices (PL/IL) in opposite hemispheres, i.e. to disrupt neurotransmission within the circuit, impaired encoding and retrieval. Administration of scopolamine or AP5 in the PRH-PL/IL circuit impaired encoding. Drug effects in each brain region were then investigated separately. Intra-PRH CNQX, scopolamine or AP5 disrupted encoding, such that the animals explored the recent object significantly more than the old object. In contrast, intra-PL/IL CNQX, scopolamine or AP5 impaired memory performance such that the animals spent an equal amount of time exploring the objects. CNQX but not AP5 or scopolamine impaired retrieval. Furthermore, CNQX impaired novel object preference when infused into the PRH but not PL/IL following a 3 h delay. Thus, encoding of temporal order memory is mediated by plastic processes involving N-methyl-D-aspartate and muscarinic receptors within the PRH-PL/IL circuit, but these two regions make qualitatively different cognitive contributions to the formation of this memory process.

Modulatory influence of dopamine receptors on consolidation of object recognition memory

The role of dopamine receptors in regulating the formation of recognition memory remains poorly understood. Here we show the effects of systemic administration of dopamine receptor agonists and antagonists on the formation of memory for novel object recognition in rats. In Experiment I, rats received an intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of vehicle, the selective D1 receptor agonist SKF38393 (1.0 and 5.0mg/kg), or the D2 receptor agonist quinpirole (1.0 and 5.0mg/kg) immediately after training. In Experiment II, rats received an injection of vehicle, the dopamine receptor antagonist SCH23390 (0.1 and 0.05 mg/kg), or the D2 receptor antagonist raclopride (0.5 and 0.1mg/kg) before training, followed by an injection of vehicle or the nonselective dopamine receptor agonist apomorphine (0.05 mg/kg) immediately after training. SKF38393 at 5mg/kg produced an enhancement of novel object recognition memory measured at both 24 and 72 h after training, whereas the dose of 10mg/kg impaired 24-h retention. Posttraining administration of quinpirole did not affect 24-h retention. Apomorphine enhanced memory in rats given pretraining raclopride, suggesting that the effect was mediated by selective activation of D1 receptors. The results indicate that activation of D1 receptors can enhance recognition memory consolidation. Importantly, pharmacological activation of D1 receptors enhanced novel object recognition memory even under conditions in which control rats showed significant retention.

Recognition memory: material, processes, and substrates

The proposal that a system centering on the perirhinal cortex is responsible for familiarity discrimination, particularly for single items, whereas a system centering on the hippocampus is responsible for recollective and more complex associational aspects of recognition memory is reviewed in the light of recent findings. In particular, the proposal is reviewed in relation to recent animal work with rats and results from human clinical studies. Notably, progress has been made in determining potential neural memory substrate mechanisms within the perirhinal cortex in rats. Recent findings have emphasized the importance of specifying the type of material, the type of test, and the strategy used by subjects to solve recognition memory tests if substrates are to be accurately inferred. It is to be expected that the default condition is that both the hippocampal and perirhinal systems will contribute to recognition memory performance. Indeed, rat lesion experiments provide examples of where cooperation between both systems is essential. Nevertheless, there remain examples of the independent operation of the hippocampal and perirhinal systems. Overall, it is concluded that most, though not all, of the recent findings are in support of the proposal. However, there is also evidence that the systems involved in recognition memory need to include structures outside the medial temporal lobe: there are significant but as yet only partially defined roles for the prefrontal cortex and sensory association cortices in recognition memory processes.

Distinct patterns of Fos immunoreactivity in striatum and hippocampus induced by different kinds of novelty in mice

In this study the immediate-early gene Fos was used to investigate the response to different novel stimuli in a wide array of brain regions including the hippocampus, the rhinal cortex, the frontal cortex and different components of the striatal complex. Independent groups of CD-1 mice were exposed to three different novelty conditions: (1) novel environment (empty open field); (2) complex novel environment (i.e. open field containing objects); and (3) identity-based detection of novel objects. We observed that a complex novel environment and a knowledge-based novelty modulated Fos levels in both the dorsal and the ventral components of the striatum, while Fos immunoreactivity in the medial temporal lobe was only increased after exposure to novel environments, regardless of their complexity. Finally, we observed a strong increase of Fos levels in the prefrontal cortex in all the three novel conditions examined, indicating a major involvement of this structure in novelty assessment. Overall the present study demonstrates that distinct brain regions are recruited in different kinds of novelty and emphasizes the role of the striatal complex in processing complex novel information.

Findings from animals concerning when interactions between perirhinal cortex, hippocampus and medial prefrontal cortex are necessary for recognition memory

Loss of recognition memory is a prominent feature of the human classical amnesic syndrome. Recognition memory requires judgments concerning prior occurrence. Such judgments can be made in a variety of ways using different types of information such as the relative familiarity of individual objects or locations, or the location of a previously encountered object, or when an object was previously encountered. We review findings of selective ablation studies which demonstrate that the perirhinal cortex, hippocampus and medial prefrontal cortex are differently involved in recognition memory processes involving these different types of information. This review also presents data from a series of disconnection analyses, which test whether the perirhinal cortex, hippocampus and medial prefrontal cortex form components of an integrated system for these recognition memory processes. These analyses reveal that it is necessary for the perirhinal cortex, medial prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus to interact, forming an integrated network, in recognition memory involving judgment of whether an object has been previously encountered in a particular place (object-in-place recognition memory) and in judging which of two objects was encountered longer ago (temporal order memory). In contrast, such interactions are not necessary when judgments are made concerning the prior occurrence of an individual item without positional information being necessary for the judgment (object memory) or concerning the prior occurrence of some item at a particular location without object information being necessary for the judgment (location memory).

Dynamics and robustness of familiarity memory

When presented with an item or a face, one might have a sense of recognition without the ability to recall when or where the stimulus has been encountered before. This sense of recognition is called familiarity memory. Following previous computational studies of familiarity memory, we investigate the dynamical properties of familiarity discrimination and contrast two different familiarity discriminators: one based on the energy of the neural network and the other based on the time derivative of the energy. We show how the familiarity signal decays rapidly after stimulus presentation. For both discriminators, we calculate the capacity using mean field analysis. Compared to recall capacity (the classical associative memory in Hopfield nets), both the energy and the slope discriminators have bigger capacity, yet the energy-based discriminator has a higher capacity than one based on its time derivative. Finally, both discriminators are found to have a different noise dependence.

Glucocorticoid effects on memory consolidation depend on functional interactions between the medial prefrontal cortex and basolateral amygdala

Considerable evidence indicates that the basolateral complex of the amygdala (BLA) interacts with efferent brain regions in mediating glucocorticoid effects on memory consolidation. Here, we investigated whether glucocorticoid influences on the consolidation of memory for emotionally arousing training depend on functional interactions between the BLA and the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), a brain region involved in higher-order cognitive and affective processing. The glucocorticoid receptor (GR) agonist 11beta,17beta-dihydroxy-6,21-dimethyl-17alpha-pregna-4,6-trien-20yn-3-one (RU 28362) administered unilaterally into the left mPFC of male Sprague Dawley rats immediately after inhibitory avoidance training enhanced 48 h retention performance. An ipsilateral, but not contralateral, lesion of the BLA blocked the memory enhancement. In a second experiment, RU 28362 infused into the mPFC after inhibitory avoidance training increased BLA levels of phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (pErk1/2). Blockade of this pErk1/2 activity in the BLA with the mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase inhibitor PD98059 [2-(2-amino-3-methoxyphenyl)-4H-1-benzopyran-4-one] prevented the memory enhancement, suggesting that GR agonist administration into the mPFC enhances memory consolidation via modulation of BLA activity. Conversely, GR agonist infusions administered into the BLA posttraining increased pErk1/2 levels in the mPFC in regulating memory consolidation. Moreover, as assessed with a two-phase inhibitory avoidance procedure designed to separate modulatory influences on memory of context and footshock, posttraining GR agonist infusions into either the BLA or mPFC enhanced memory of the contextual as well as aversive information acquired during inhibitory avoidance training. These findings indicate that glucocorticoid effects on memory consolidation depend on bidirectional interactions between the BLA and mPFC.

Reward motivation accelerates the onset of neural novelty signals in humans to 85 milliseconds

The neural responses that distinguish novel from familiar items in recognition memory tasks are remarkably fast in both humans and nonhuman primates. In humans, the earliest onsets of neural novelty effects emerge at about ∼150–200 ms after stimulus onset [1–5]. However, in recognition memory studies with nonhuman primates, novelty effects can arise at as early as 70–80 ms [6, 7]. Here, we address the possibility that this large species difference in onset latencies is caused experimentally by the necessity of using reward reinforcement to motivate the detection of novel or familiar items in nonhuman primates but not in humans. Via magnetoencephalography in humans, we show in two experiments that the onset of neural novelty signals is accelerated from ∼200 ms to ∼85 ms if correct recognition memory for either novel or familiar items is rewarded. Importantly, this acceleration is independent of whether the detection of the novel or the familiar scenes is rewarded. Furthermore, this early novelty effect contributed to memory retrieval because neural reward responses, which were contingent upon novelty detection, followed ∼100 ms later. Thus, under the contextual influence of reward motivation, behaviorally relevant novelty signals emerge much faster than previously held possible in humans.

Retrieval processes supporting judgments of recency

The circumstances under which different retrieval processes can support judgments about how long ago events occurred remain a matter of debate, as do the ways in which retrieved information can be employed in support of such judgments. In order to contribute to an understanding of the nature and number of distinct retrieval processes that support time judgments, event-related potentials (ERPs) were acquired during a continuous verbal memory task, where the lag between presentation and re-presentation of words was varied. Participants made judgments of recency (JORs), indicating the number of words that had intervened between presentation and re-presentation. Two spatially and temporally separable ERP effects predicted JORs, and the two effects bore correspondences with ERP modulations that have been linked to the processes of recollection and familiarity, suggesting that both of these processes contributed to JORs. The two effects predicting recency judgments also did so in the same way, with larger effects uniformly predicting shorter lag judgments. In so far as the sizes of the effects index memory strength, these findings are consistent with theoretical accounts of JORs where strength is employed heuristically: The more information recovered, the more recently the event occurred.

Optimizing one-shot learning with binary synapses

A network of excitatory synapses trained with a conservative version of Hebbian learning is used as a model for recognizing the familiarity of thousands of once-seen stimuli from those never seen before. Such networks were initially proposed for modeling memory retrieval (selective delay activity). We show that the same framework allows the incorporation of both familiarity recognition and memory retrieval, and estimate the network's capacity. In the case of binary neurons, we extend the analysis of Amit and Fusi (1994) to obtain capacity limits based on computations of signal-to-noise ratio of the field difference between selective and non-selective neurons of learned signals. We show that with fast learning (potentiation probability approximately 1), the most recently learned patterns can be retrieved in working memory (selective delay activity). A much higher number of once-seen learned patterns elicit a realistic familiarity signal in the presence of an external field. With potentiation probability much less than 1 (slow learning), memory retrieval disappears, whereas familiarity recognition capacity is maintained at a similarly high level. This analysis is corroborated in simulations. For analog neurons, where such analysis is more difficult, we simplify the capacity analysis by studying the excess number of potentiated synapses above the steady-state distribution. In this framework, we derive the optimal constraint between potentiation and depression probabilities that maximizes the capacity.

NMDA receptor plasticity in the perirhinal and prefrontal cortices is crucial for the acquisition of long-term object-in-place associative memory

A key process for recognition memory is the formation of associations between an object and the place in which it was encountered, a process that has been shown to require the perirhinal (PRH) and medial prefrontal (mPFC) cortices. Here we demonstrate, for the first time, the importance of glutamatergic neurotransmission, within the PRH and mPFC, for object-in-place associative recognition memory. Unilateral blockade of AMPA receptors (by CNQX) in the PRH and mPFC in opposite hemispheres impaired an object-in-place task in rats, confirming that these cortical regions operate within a neural network for object-in-place recognition memory. Intra-mPFC infusions of AP5 (NMDA receptor antagonist) impaired short-term memory and the acquisition of long-term memory, but had no effect on retrieval. AP5 infusions into the PRH disrupted acquisition of long-term memory, but not short-term memory or retrieval. Significantly, crossed AP5 infusions into both the PRH and mPFC disrupted acquisition of long-term memory but were without effect on short-term memory. Finally a unilateral infusion of the selective kainate (GLU(K5)) receptor antagonist UBP302 [(S)-1-(2-amino-2-carboxyethyl)-3-(2-carboxybenzyl)pyrimidine-2,4-dione] into the PRH combined with a unilateral infusion of AP5 into the contralateral mPFC significantly impaired short-term object-in-place associative memory. These data show that the PRH and mPFC make distinct contributions to object-in-place associative memory and that the encoding of long-term but not short-term memory requires concurrent NMDA receptor activation in both cortical regions. In contrast, short-term object-in-place memory appears to be dependent on kainate receptor activation in the PRH and NMDA receptor activation in the mPFC.

Universal memory mechanism for familiarity recognition and identification

Macaque monkeys were tested on a delayed-match-to-multiple-sample task, with either a limited set of well trained images (in randomized sequence) or with never-before-seen images. They performed much better with novel images. False positives were mostly limited to catch-trial image repetitions from the preceding trial. This result implies extremely effective one-shot learning, resembling Standing's finding that people detect familiarity for 10,000 once-seen pictures (with 80% accuracy) (Standing, 1973). Familiarity memory may differ essentially from identification, which embeds and generates contextual information. When encountering another person, we can say immediately whether his or her face is familiar. However, it may be difficult for us to identify the same person. To accompany the psychophysical findings, we present a generic neural network model reproducing these behaviors, based on the same conservative Hebbian synaptic plasticity that generates delay activity identification memory. Familiarity becomes the first step toward establishing identification. Adding an inter-trial reset mechanism limits false positives for previous-trial images. The model, unlike previous proposals, relates repetition-recognition with enhanced neural activity, as recently observed experimentally in 92% of differential cells in prefrontal cortex, an area directly involved in familiarity recognition. There may be an essential functional difference between enhanced responses to novel versus to familiar images: The maximal signal from temporal cortex is for novel stimuli, facilitating additional sensory processing of newly acquired stimuli. The maximal signal for familiar stimuli arising in prefrontal cortex facilitates the formation of selective delay activity, as well as additional consolidation of the memory of the image in an upstream cortical module.

Functional interaction between 5-HT(6) receptors and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis: cognitive implications

The serotonin 5-HT(6) receptor has become a promising target for the treatment of neuropsychological diseases, such as affective disorders. Increasing evidence implicates stress and its effector system, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, in the neurobiology of depression. In addition, there are important memory disturbances in stress-related psychiatric disorders that have been associated to an impairment of the HPA axis reactivity. The aim of the present work is to study the functional interactions between 5-HT(6) receptors and HPA axis. In a situation of increased HPA axis responsiveness (maternal separation, MS) no differences were found in the expression of 5-HT(6) gene in the hippocampus or frontal cortex, although serotonin levels were higher in the frontal cortex of MS rats. 5-HT(6) receptor mRNA expression increased significantly in the hippocampus in a situation of decreased glucocorticoid levels, such as adrenalectomy. Cognitive deficits associated to HPA dysfunction, such those found in the MS model, were fully reversed by administration of SB271046, a selective 5-HT(6) receptor antagonist. A chronic treatment with SB271046 did not modify CRF mRNA levels in the hypothalamus, but there was a higher glucocorticoid receptor density in the hippocampus compared to control. In contrast, in the frontal cortex, treatment with SB271046 induced a significant decrease in glucocorticoid receptor density. These data suggest that expression of 5-HT(6) receptors might be differentially regulated depending on levels of circulating adrenal corticoids. These results are discussed in terms of therapeutical approaches to the treatment of behavioral (depressive-like) and cognitive disturbances associated to an altered response to stress.

On the participation of mTOR in recognition memory

Evidence indicates that activation of the neuronal protein synthesis machinery is required in areas of the brain relevant to memory for consolidation and persistence of the mnemonic trace. Here, we report that inhibition of hippocampal mTOR, a protein kinase involved in the initiation of mRNA translation, immediately or 180min but not 540min after training impairs consolidation of long-term object recognition memory without affecting short-term memory retention or exploratory behavior. When infused into dorsal CA1 after long-term memory reactivation in the presence of familiar objects the mTOR inhibitor rapamycin (RAP) did not affect retention. However, when given immediately after exposing animals to a novel and a familiar object, RAP impaired memory for both of them. The amnesic effect of the post-retrieval administration of RAP was long-lasting, did not happen after exposure to two novel objects or following exploration of the training arena in the absence of other stimuli, suggesting that it was contingent with reactivation of the consolidated trace in the presence of a behaviorally relevant and novel cue. Our results indicate that mTOR activity is required in the dorsal hippocampus for consolidation of object recognition memory and suggest that inhibition of this kinase after memory retrieval in the presence of a particular set of cues hinders persistence of the original recognition memory trace.

A link between role of two prefrontal areas in immediate memory and in long-term memory consolidation

The dorsolateral and medial prefrontal cortex are critical for immediate memory processing. The possibility has been raised that those two areas may also contribute to long-term memory formation. Here, we studied the role of specific receptors in dorsolateral and medial prefrontal cortex in immediate and in long-term memory formation of one-trial inhibitory avoidance. Four different specific receptor ligands were infused into these two areas: the dopamine D1 receptor antagonist, SCH23390, the GABA(A) receptor agonist, muscimol, the AMPA glutamatergic receptor antagonist, ciano-nitro-quinoxaline-dione (CNQX), and the NMDA glutamatergic receptor antagonist, aminophosphonovaleric acid (AP5). In all cases the doses used had been previously shown to affect immediate or long-term memory. In the experiments on immediate memory the drugs were given 5 min before training and the animals were tested 3s post-training. These animals were then also tested 24h later for long-term memory. The effect of the treatments on long-term memory was studied by their infusion 0, 90, 180 or 270 min post-training, testing the animals 24h after training. Immediate memory was inhibited by SCH23390, muscimol and CNQX, but not by AP5, given into any of the two subregions. Long-term memory formation was inhibited by SCH23390, muscimol and CNQX, but not by AP5, given pre-training or 0, 90 or 180 but not 270 min post-training into the dorsolateral region; or 90 but not 0 or 180 min post-training into the medial region. Thus, there is a time- and receptor-dependent correlation in the two areas between their role in immediate and in long-term memory processing. Both roles require intact glutamate AMPA and dopamine D1 receptors, are inhibited by GABAergic synapses, and are unaffected by AP5. In the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex the link between immediate and long-term memory appears to be direct; in the medial area the link suffers a 90 min delay.