Journal
NEUROBIOLOGY OF LEARNING AND MEMORY
Volume 89, Issue 4, Pages 595-598Publisher
ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE
DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2007.08.003
Keywords
protein phosphatase 2B; fear conditioning; memory; learning; synaptic plasticity
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It is unclear whether protein phosphatases, which counteract the actions of protein kinases, play a beneficial role in the formation and extinction of previously acquired fear memories. In this study, we investigated the role of the calcium/calmodulin dependent phosphatase 2B, also known as calcineurin (CaN) in the formation of contextual fear memory and extinction of previously acquired contextual fear. We used a temporally regulated transgenic approach, that allowed us to selectively inhibit neuronal CaN activity in the forebrain either during conditioning or only during extinction training leaving the conditioning undisturbed. Reducing CaN activity through the expression of a CaN inhibitor facilitated contextual fear conditioning, while it impaired the extinction of previously formed contextual fear memory. These findings give the first genetic evidence that neuronal CaN plays an opposite role in the formation of contextual fear memories and the extinction of previously formed contextual fear memories. (C) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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