New Spines, New Memories

Overview

Journal Mol Neurobiol

Specialties Molecular Biology
Neurology

Date 2004 May 6

PMID 15126680

Citations 66

Authors

Benedetta Leuner

Tracey J Shors

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

For more than a century dendritic spines have been a source of fascination and speculation. The long-held belief that these anatomical structures are involved in learning and memory are addressed. Specifically, two lines of evidence that support this claim are reviewed. In the first, we review evidence that experimental manipulations that affect dendritic spine number in the hippocampus also affect learning processes of various sorts. In the second, we review evidence that learning itself affects the presence of dendritic spines in the hippocampus. Based on these observations, we propose that the presence of spines enhances synaptic efficacy and thereby the excitability of the network involved in the learning process. With this scheme, learning is not dependent on changes in spine density but rather changes in the presence of dendritic spines provide anatomical support for the processing of novel information used in memory formation.

Citing Articles

Sex- and cycle-dependent changes in spine density and size in hippocampal CA2 neurons.

Jabra S, Rietsche M, Muellerleile J, OLeary A, Slattery D, Deller T Sci Rep. 2024; 14(1):12252.

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Sex Differences in Stress Response: Classical Mechanisms and Beyond.

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Fmr1-KO mice failure to detect object novelty associates with a post-test decrease of structural and synaptic plasticity upstream of the hippocampus.

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Electrical recordings from dendritic spines of adult mouse hippocampus and effect of the actin cytoskeleton.

Priel A, Dai X, Chen X, Scarinci N, Cantero M, Cantiello H Front Mol Neurosci. 2022; 15:769725.

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Genome Sequencing Variations in the , an Unconventional Natural Model of Aging and Alzheimer's Disease.

Hurley M, Urra C, Garduno B, Bruno A, Kimbell A, Wilkinson B Front Aging Neurosci. 2022; 14:894994.

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