Molecular brake pad hypothesis: pulling off the brakes for emotional memory
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Annie Vogel-Ciernia
Annie Vogel-Ciernia is a graduate student in Dr. Wood’s lab in the Department of Neurobiology & Behavior at the University of California, Irvine. Annie received her undergraduate degree from North Dakota State University with double majors in biotechnology and psychology. Annie’s current research focuses on the role of nucleosome remodeling in long-term memory formation.
Dr. Wood received his PhD from the Department of Molecular Biology at Princeton University in molecular cancer biology. He then switched fields to study the neurobiology of learning and memory at the University of Pennsylvania for his postdoctoral fellowship. He is currently an associate professor in the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior at the University of California Irvine. He is also the Director of the Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program. His research program focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying long-term memory formation and drugseeking behavior.
Abstract
Under basal conditions histone deacetylases (HDACs) and their associated co-repressor complexes serve as molecular ‘brake pads’ to prevent the gene expression required for long-term memory formation. Following a learning event, HDACs and their co-repressor complexes are removed from a subset of specific gene promoters, allowing the histone acetylation and active gene expression required for long-term memory formation. Inhibition of HDACs increases histone acetylation, extends gene expression profiles, and allows for the formation of persistent long-term memories for training events that are otherwise forgotten. We propose that emotionally salient experiences have utilized this system to form strong and persistent memories for behaviorally significant events. Consequently, the presence or absence of HDACs at a selection of specific gene promoters could serve as a critical barrier for permitting the formation of long-term memories.
About the authors
Annie Vogel-Ciernia is a graduate student in Dr. Wood’s lab in the Department of Neurobiology & Behavior at the University of California, Irvine. Annie received her undergraduate degree from North Dakota State University with double majors in biotechnology and psychology. Annie’s current research focuses on the role of nucleosome remodeling in long-term memory formation.
Dr. Wood received his PhD from the Department of Molecular Biology at Princeton University in molecular cancer biology. He then switched fields to study the neurobiology of learning and memory at the University of Pennsylvania for his postdoctoral fellowship. He is currently an associate professor in the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior at the University of California Irvine. He is also the Director of the Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program. His research program focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying long-term memory formation and drugseeking behavior.
©2012 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Masthead
- Masthead
- Guest Editorial
- Special Issue: The emotional brain and its relation to psychopathology
- Emotional modulation of the synapse
- Interplay of amygdala and insular cortex during and after associative taste aversion memory formation
- PKMζ inhibition prevents the metaplastic change induced by conditioned taste aversion on insular cortex long-term potentiation in vivo
- Taste and odor recognition memory: the emotional flavor of life
- Intense emotional experiences and enhanced training prevent memory loss induced by post-training amnesic treatments administered to the striatum, amygdala, hippocampus or substantia nigra
- Prefrontal/accumbal catecholamine system processes emotionally driven attribution of motivational salience
- Spatial memory, plasticity and nucleus accumbens
- Serotonin and emotion, learning and memory
- Contribution of serotonin type 3 receptors in the successful extinction of cued or contextual fear conditioned responses: interactions with GABAergic signaling
- Bombesin receptor regulation of emotional memory
- Estrogen, cognitive functions and emotion: an overview on humans, non-human primates and rodents in reproductive years
- Molecular brake pad hypothesis: pulling off the brakes for emotional memory
- Emotional modulation of multiple memory systems: implications for the neurobiology of post-traumatic stress disorder
- Modeling specific phobias and posttraumatic stress disorder in rodents: the challenge to convey both cognitive and emotional features
- Learning to cope with stress: psychobiological mechanisms of stress resilience
- Effects of parabolic flight and spaceflight on the endocannabinoid system in humans
- Glucocorticoid-endocannabinoid interaction in cardiac surgical patients: relationship to early cognitive dysfunction and late depression
- Differences between the aging process and the chronic cerebrovascular impairment of memory functioning: the emotional and cognitive interaction
- A role for the superior colliculus in the modulation of threat responsiveness in primates: toward the ontogenesis of the social brain
- Cannabinoid modulation of mother-infant interaction: is it just about milk?
- Maternal exposure to low levels of corticosterone during lactation increases social play behavior in rat adolescent offspring
- Compulsive drug use and its neural substrates
- The role of the basal ganglia in motivated behavior
- The role of setting for ketamine abuse: clinical and preclinical evidence
Articles in the same Issue
- Masthead
- Masthead
- Guest Editorial
- Special Issue: The emotional brain and its relation to psychopathology
- Emotional modulation of the synapse
- Interplay of amygdala and insular cortex during and after associative taste aversion memory formation
- PKMζ inhibition prevents the metaplastic change induced by conditioned taste aversion on insular cortex long-term potentiation in vivo
- Taste and odor recognition memory: the emotional flavor of life
- Intense emotional experiences and enhanced training prevent memory loss induced by post-training amnesic treatments administered to the striatum, amygdala, hippocampus or substantia nigra
- Prefrontal/accumbal catecholamine system processes emotionally driven attribution of motivational salience
- Spatial memory, plasticity and nucleus accumbens
- Serotonin and emotion, learning and memory
- Contribution of serotonin type 3 receptors in the successful extinction of cued or contextual fear conditioned responses: interactions with GABAergic signaling
- Bombesin receptor regulation of emotional memory
- Estrogen, cognitive functions and emotion: an overview on humans, non-human primates and rodents in reproductive years
- Molecular brake pad hypothesis: pulling off the brakes for emotional memory
- Emotional modulation of multiple memory systems: implications for the neurobiology of post-traumatic stress disorder
- Modeling specific phobias and posttraumatic stress disorder in rodents: the challenge to convey both cognitive and emotional features
- Learning to cope with stress: psychobiological mechanisms of stress resilience
- Effects of parabolic flight and spaceflight on the endocannabinoid system in humans
- Glucocorticoid-endocannabinoid interaction in cardiac surgical patients: relationship to early cognitive dysfunction and late depression
- Differences between the aging process and the chronic cerebrovascular impairment of memory functioning: the emotional and cognitive interaction
- A role for the superior colliculus in the modulation of threat responsiveness in primates: toward the ontogenesis of the social brain
- Cannabinoid modulation of mother-infant interaction: is it just about milk?
- Maternal exposure to low levels of corticosterone during lactation increases social play behavior in rat adolescent offspring
- Compulsive drug use and its neural substrates
- The role of the basal ganglia in motivated behavior
- The role of setting for ketamine abuse: clinical and preclinical evidence
