Amazing stuff!
"... Their work, published in Nature Neuroscience, suggests that long-term memory can form independently of short-term memory, a finding that opens exciting possibilities for understanding memory-related conditions. ...
"The prevailing theory suggested a single pathway, where short-term memories were consolidated into long-term memories. However, we now have strong evidence of at least two distinct pathways to memory formation—one dedicated to short-term memories and another to long-term memories. This could mean our brains are more resilient than previously thought." ...
Mice that didn't seem to remember the frightening experience an hour after it occurred, showed clear evidence of remembering at later times. In other words, blocking short-term memory of the event did not disrupt long-term memory. ..."
The key finding: Disrupting short-term memory formation did not block long-term memory
The research team focused on a specific enzyme in neurons called CaMKII, which is critical for short-term memory formation. Previously, they developed an optogenetic approach that uses light to temporarily deactivate CaMKII. With this tool in hand, the team set out to use light to block short-term memory formation in a mouse. ...
When the research team used their tool to disrupt memory formation, even those mice that had a frightening experience an hour earlier entered the dark space, suggesting they had no memory of the experience. The scientists had successfully blocked short-term memory formation.
What happened next was surprising to the research team. A day, week, or even a month later, these mice were altering their behavior to avoid where they were previously frightened.
From the abstract:
"Long-term memory (LTM) consolidation is thought to require the prior establishment of short-term memory (STM). Here we show that optogenetic or genetic CaMKII inhibition impairs STM for an inhibitory avoidance task at 1 h but not LTM at 1 day in mice. Similarly, cortico-amygdala synaptic potentiation was more sensitive to CaMKII inhibition at 1 h than at 1 day after training. Thus, LTM does not require the formation of STM, and CaMKII-dependent plasticity specifically regulates STM for avoidance memory."
New Pathways to Long-Term Memory Formation (original news release) "Researchers from Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience have discovered a new pathway to forming long-term memories in the brain. Their work suggests that long-term memory can form independently of short-term memory, a finding that opens exciting possibilities for understanding memory-related conditions."
Formation of long-term memory without short-term memory by CaMKII inhibition (preprint, open access)
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