Abstract
It has been suggested that the dentate gyrus, particularly its new neurons generated via adult neurogenesis, is involved in memory acquisition and recall. Here, we trained rats in two types of Morris water maze tasks that are differentially associated with these two memory processes, and examined whether new neurons are differently affected by the two tasks performed during the second week of neuronal birth. Our results indicate that the task involving more opportunities to acquire new information better supports the survival of new neurons. Further, we assessed whether the two tasks differentially induce the expression of an immediate early gene, Zif268, which is known to be induced by neuronal activation. While the two tasks differentially induce Zif268 expression in the dentate gyrus, the proportions of new neurons activated were similar between the two tasks. Thus, we conclude that while the two tasks differentially activate the dentate gyrus, the task involving more opportunities for memory acquisition during the second week of the birth of new neurons better promotes the survival of the new neurons.
Highlights
The mammalian brain continues to generate new neurons in a few select regions throughout life[1]
On the basis of this reasoning, we decided to examine whether behavioral tasks that are associated with memory acquisition and recall to different degrees affect new neurons differentially
Our study was motivated by the question of whether two memory subprocesses, i.e., acquisition and recall, differentially affect new neurons in the dentate gyrus
Summary
The mammalian brain continues to generate new neurons in a few select regions throughout life[1]. On the basis of this reasoning, we decided to examine whether behavioral tasks that are associated with memory acquisition and recall to different degrees affect new neurons differentially. We tested how the survival and activation of new neurons are affected by training for two memory tasks that are differentially associated with memory acquisition and recall, performed during this maturational period. For this purpose, we trained rats in two different versions of the water maze task: a reference memory task and a working memory task. In the working memory task, rats are confronted with more opportunities to acquire new information than in the reference memory task, at the expense of opportunities to recall previously acquired information
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
