Formal Presentation from minute 0 to 1:01:00, followed by Q&A and informal discussion.
Speaker: Elva Diaz, Professor, Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of California Davis
How to change your mind: Molecular mechanisms of brain function underlying learning and memory
A key neural mechanism of learning and memory is thought to be activity-dependent changes in AMPA-type glutamate receptors (AMPAR) levels at synapses, the fundamental units of communication between neurons. Changes in synaptic AMPAR content are driven by long-term potentiation (LTP) and depression (LTD) of synaptic strength. While significant progress has been made in understanding AMPAR anchoring at synapses, less is known about the mechanisms that govern establishment and maintenance of reserve pools of extrasynaptic AMPARs. Here we demonstrate that SynDIG4 (SD4) maintains the reserve pools of GluA1-containing AMPARs that are targeted to synapses during LTP and required for higher order cognitive function such as learning and memory.
