Synaptic rearrangement of NMDA receptors controls memory engram formation and malleability in the cortex.

ABSTRACT: Initially hippocampal dependent, memory representations rely on a broadly distributed cortical network as they mature over time. How these cortical engrams acquire stability during systems-level memory consolidation without compromising their dynamic nature remains unclear. We identified a highly responsive "consolidation switch" in the synaptic composition of N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors (NMDARs), which dictates the progressive embedding and persistence of enduring memories in the rat cortex. Cortical GluN2B subunit-containing NMDARs were preferentially recruited upon encoding of associative olfactory memory to support neuronal allocation of memory engrams. As consolidation proceeds, a learning-induced redistribution of GluN2B subunit-containing NMDARs outward synapses increased

SUBMITTER: Bessieres B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11364093 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature