Week 4 Flashcards
What are the glutamate receptors?
NDMA and AMPA
What hypothesis was Richard Morris the first to test, and how?
- The initial formation of memory trace depends on the activation of NDMA receptors
- Injected an NDMA antagonist into the cerebral spinal fluid so it would spread throughout the brain
What were the results of Morris’s study?
APV prevented LTP in the dentate gyrus (hippocampus) and rats’ ability to learn the location of the platform in a place-learning task were dramatically impaired
All functional NDMA receptors contain ____ subunits
GluN1
What are the GluN2 subtypes?
GluN2A, GluN2B, GluN2C, GluN2D
A combination of GluN1 and GluN2 receptors are needed in order to _____
Form a channel that allows Ca2+ into the neuron
The GluN1 subunit in the CA3 regions is important for _____, but not ____
- one-trial place learning
- learning the location of a platform that does not move between trials
GluN1 knockout should prevent ____ in the area it deleted
LTP
LTP is easier to induce when _____ is dominant because _____
- GluN2B
- The receptors are open longer to let more Ca2+ ions through
What change in glutamate receptors causes enhanced learning and memory in mice?
Overexpression of GluN2B receptors
Object-recognition memory critically depends on _____
A cortical region adjacent to the hippocampus called the perirhinal cortex
Roberto Manilow provided evidence that ______
Behavioural experiences that produce memories traffic additional GluA1 AMPA receptors into spines
Preventing _____ impairs fear conditioning
AMPA receptor trafficking
Lynch et al have created a class of drugs called ____ which _____
- ampakines
- may enhance cognitive function
How do ampakines work?
Cross the blood-brain barrier and bind to AMPA receptors, where they lengthen the duration of channel opening upon binding to glutamate
What is the NDMA receptor antagonist?
APV
When does APV affect LTP?
Only prevents LTP before it has been established
NDMA receptors are critical for ____, while AMPA receptors are critical for ____
- memory acquisition
- memory acquisition and retrieval
CA2+ is a second messenger that activates _____, which binds to ____
- calmodulin
- the kinase CaMKII
What happens to CaMKII knockout mice?
They are severely impaired in several learning and memory tasks
Preventing ____ of CaMKII impairs ____
- autophosphorylation
- rapid memory formation
CaMKII is important for what type of memory?
Fear memories
What brain areas are critical for fear memories?
- basolateral amygdala
- prelimbic cortex
What brain area is critical for taste aversion?
Neurons in the insular cortex
