Inducible and reversible enhancement of learning, memory,
and long-term potentiation by genetic inhibition of calcineurin

by
Malleret G, Haditsch U, Genoux D, Jones MW, Bliss TV,
Vanhoose AM, Weitlauf C, Kandel ER, Winder DG, Mansuy IM.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute,
Center for Neurobiology and Behavior,
Columbia University, 722 West 168th Street,
New York, NY 10032, USA.
Cell 2001 Mar 9;104(5):675-86


ABSTRACT

The threshold for hippocampal-dependent synaptic plasticity and memory storage is thought to be determined by the balance between protein phosphorylation and dephosphorylation mediated by the kinase PKA and the phosphatase calcineurin. To establish whether endogenous calcineurin acts as an inhibitory constraint in this balance, we examined the effect of genetically inhibiting calcineurin on plasticity and memory. Using the doxycycline-dependent rtTA system to express a calcineurin inhibitor reversibly in the mouse brain, we find that the transient reduction of calcineurin activity facilitates LTP in vitro and in vivo. This facilitation is PKA dependent and persists over several days in vivo. It is accompanied by enhanced learning and strengthened short- and long-term memory in several hippocampal-dependent spatial and nonspatial tasks. The LTP and memory improvements are reversed fully by suppression of transgene expression. These results demonstrate that endogenous calcineurin constrains LTP and memory.

CREB
Betel nut
Vinpocetine
Meclofenoxate
New brain cells
Centrophenoxine
The memory switch?
Dumb-drug euphoria
Growing new brain cells




Refs
and further reading

HOME
HedWeb
Nootropics
cocaine.wiki
Future Opioids
BLTC Research
MDMA/Ecstasy
Superhapiness?
Utopian Surgery?
The Abolitionist Project
The Hedonistic Imperative
The Reproductive Revolution
Critique of Huxley's Brave New World

The Good Drug Guide
The Good Drug Guide

The Responsible Parent's Guide
To Healthy Mood Boosters For All The Family