Role of Immediate-Early Genes in Synaptic Plasticity and Neuronal Ensembles Underlying the Memory Trace

In the brain, neuronal gene expression is dynamically changed in response to neuronal activity. In particular, the expression of immediate-early genes (IEGs) such as egr-1, c-fos, and Arc is rapidly and selectively upregulated in subsets of neurons in specific brain regions associated with learning...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Frontiers in molecular neuroscience 2016-01, Vol.8, p.78-78
Main Authors: Minatohara, Keiichiro, Akiyoshi, Mika, Okuno, Hiroyuki
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal memory
Arc
Behavior
Brain
c-fos
c-Fos protein
EGR-1 protein
Gene expression
Genetic engineering
immediate-early gene
Immediate-early proteins
Information processing
Labeling
Learning
Long term memory
memory trace
neuronal ensemble
Neurons
Neuroscience
Physiology
Protein synthesis
Proteins
Synaptic plasticity
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:In the brain, neuronal gene expression is dynamically changed in response to neuronal activity. In particular, the expression of immediate-early genes (IEGs) such as egr-1, c-fos, and Arc is rapidly and selectively upregulated in subsets of neurons in specific brain regions associated with learning and memory formation. IEG expression has therefore been widely used as a molecular marker for neuronal populations that undergo plastic changes underlying formation of long-term memory. In recent years, optogenetic and pharmacogenetic studies of neurons expressing c-fos or Arc have revealed that, during learning, IEG-positive neurons encode and store information that is required for memory recall, suggesting that they may be involved in formation of the memory trace. However, despite accumulating evidence for the role of IEGs in synaptic plasticity, the molecular and cellular mechanisms associated with this process remain unclear. In this review, we first summarize recent literature concerning the role of IEG-expressing neuronal ensembles in organizing the memory trace. We then focus on the physiological significance of IEGs, especially Arc, in synaptic plasticity, and describe our hypotheses about the importance of Arc expression in various types of input-specific circuit reorganization. Finally, we offer perspectives on Arc function that would unveil the role of IEG-expressing neurons in the formation of memory traces in the hippocampus and other brain areas.
ISSN:1662-5099
1662-5099
DOI:10.3389/fnmol.2015.00078