Optogenetic stimulation of a hippocampal engram activates fear memory recall.

ABSTRACT: A specific memory is thought to be encoded by a sparse population of neurons. These neurons can be tagged during learning for subsequent identification and manipulation. Moreover, their ablation or inactivation results in reduced memory expression, suggesting their necessity in mnemonic processes. However, the question of sufficiency remains: it is unclear whether it is possible to elicit the behavioural output of a specific memory by directly activating a population of neurons that was active during learning. Here we show in mice that optogenetic reactivation of hippocampal neurons activated during fear conditioning is sufficient to induce freezing behaviour. We

SUBMITTER: Liu X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3331914 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature