The role of postnatal neurogenesis in supporting remote memory and spatial metric processing

Abstract

In this study, we determined the contribution of juvenile neurogenesis to the performance of mice on a remote memory for temporally based association task and in a novelty based spatial pattern separation task. This was accomplished by mating homozygous DNMT1‐loxP mice with heterozygous GFAP‐Cre mice and comparing Cre+ (no postnatal neurogenesis) to Cre− (wild type) littermate offspring. The results indicate that Cre+ mice are impaired relative to Cre− mice in the remote memory for a temporal based association task and in a novelty based spatial pattern separation task. These results support the temporal integration model of Aimone et al., [(2006) Nat Neurosci 9:723–727] and provide further support for an important role for postnatally born neurons in spatial pattern separation. In contrast, Cre+ mice are not impaired relative to Cre− mice in an object‐context recognition task and a spatial location recognition task. These latter data suggest that postnatally derived neurons in the dentate gyrus (DG) do not support all spatial and object recognition functions of the DG. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Fluoxetine prevents the memory deficits and reduction in hippocampal cell proliferation caused by valproic acid

“…Hippocampal neurogenesis is required for spatial memory Kesner et al, 2014) and a reduction in cell proliferation, which is needed for hippocampal neurogenesis, has been associated with spatial memory deficits caused by VPA , ischemic stroke (Li et al, 2009), chemotherapy drugs (ElBeltagy et al, 2010Lyons et al, 2012;Lyons et al, 2011;, irradiation (Madsen et al, 2003; or stress . Fluoxetine enhances hippocampal neurogenesis and has been shown to have neuroprotective properties Lyons et al, 2012;Lyons et al, 2011).…”

Adult hippocampal neurogenesis and cognitive flexibility — linking memory and mood

“…By contrast, various studies have indicated that non-hippocampus-dependent learning does not require adult neurogenesis 42–46 (but see also REFS 47–51). In line with a role for young adult-born neurons in novelty encoding and learning, navigating in novel and enriched environments also increases adult neurogenesis 23,52,53 .…”

Tracking the flow of hippocampal computation: Pattern separation, pattern completion, and attractor dynamics

“…It remains to be determined how the different functional cell types may play distinct roles in these mnemonic processes. A particularly critical question concerns the role of adult neurogenesis in the functions of the DG (Nakashiba et al, 2012; Frankland, Kohler, & Josselyn, 2013; Akers et al, 2014; Kesner et al, 2014). The DG data presented here come from all cells in the DG that met certain spatial information criteria.…”