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Early life experiences selectively mature learning and memory abilities

Biology

Early life experiences selectively mature learning and memory abilities

B. Bessières, A. Traglia, et al.

This exciting research by Benjamin Bessières, Alessio Traglia, Todd M. Mowery, Xinying Zhang, and Cristina M. Alberini delves into how infant rats and mice develop their learning and memory skills. Discover the fascinating biological changes in their hippocampus that enhance memory and learning processes, including the critical role of AMPA receptors.

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~3 min • Beginner • English
Abstract
The mechanisms underlying the maturation of learning and memory abilities are poorly understood. Here we show that episodic learning produces unique biological changes in the hippocampus of infant rats and mice compared to juveniles and adults. These changes include persistent neuronal activation, BDNF-dependent increase in the excitatory synapse markers synaptophysin and PSD-95, and significant maturation of AMPA receptor synaptic responses. Inhibition of PSD-95 induction following learning impairs both AMPA receptor response maturation and infantile memory, indicating that the synapse formation/maturation is necessary for creating infantile memories. Conversely, capturing the learning-induced changes by presenting a subsequent learning experience or by chemogenetic activation of the neural ensembles tagged by learning matures memory functional competence. This memory competence is selective for the type of experience encountered, as it transfers within similar hippocampus-dependent learning domains but not to other hippocampus-dependent types of learning. Thus, experiences in early life produce selective maturation of memory abilities.
Publisher
Nature Communications
Published On
Jan 31, 2020
Authors
Benjamin Bessières, Alessio Traglia, Todd M. Mowery, Xinying Zhang, Cristina M. Alberini
Tags
learning
memory
infant rats
hippocampus
BDNF
AMPA receptors
neurobiology
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