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Changes in neuronal excitability serve as a mechanism of long-term memory for operant conditioning

Nature Neuroscience volume 11, pages 1146–1148 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

Learning can lead to changes in the intrinsic excitability of neurons. However, the extent to which these changes persist and the role they have in the expression of memory remain unclear. We found that in vitro analogs of operant conditioning produced a long-term (24 h) increase in the excitability of an identified neuron (B51) that is critical for the expression of feeding in Aplysia. This increase in excitability, which was cAMP dependent, contributed to the associative modification of the feeding circuitry, providing a mechanism for long-term memory.

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Figure 1: In vitro operant conditioning of fictive feeding behavior produced long-term changes in the activity of the CPG.
Figure 2: Long-term changes in B51 membrane properties produced by the in vitro and single-cell analogs of operant conditioning.
Figure 3: cAMP injection induced long-term changes in B51 that were similar to those produced by in vitro operant conditioning.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by National Institute of Mental Health grant MH 58321.

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Author notes

  1. Riccardo Mozzachiodi

    Present address: Present address: Department of Life Sciences, Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi, 6300 Ocean Drive, Suite ST 321, Corpus Christi, Texas 78412, USA.,

  2. Riccardo Mozzachiodi and Fred D Lorenzetti: These authors contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, W.M. Keck Center for Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, The University of Texas Medical School at Houston, 6431 Fannin Street, Suite MSB 7.046, Houston, 77030, Texas, USA

    Riccardo Mozzachiodi, Fred D Lorenzetti, Douglas A Baxter & John H Byrne

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  1. Riccardo Mozzachiodi
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  2. Fred D Lorenzetti
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  3. Douglas A Baxter
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  4. John H Byrne
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Correspondence to John H Byrne.

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Mozzachiodi, R., Lorenzetti, F., Baxter, D. et al. Changes in neuronal excitability serve as a mechanism of long-term memory for operant conditioning. Nat Neurosci 11, 1146–1148 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.2184

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