Phosphorylation of ERK/MAP kinase is required for long-term potentiation in anatomically restricted regions of the lateral amygdala in vivo.

Glenn E. Schafe (1) , Michael W. Swank (2) , Sarina M. Rodrigues (3) , Jacek Debiec (3) , Valérie Doyère (4)

1 Yale University [New Haven]
2 Baylor College of Medecine
3 New York University School of Medicine
4 NAMC - Neurobiologie de l'apprentissage, de la mémoire et de la communication

We have previously shown that the extracellular signal-regulated kinase/mitogen-activated protein kinase (ERK/ MAPK) is transiently activated in anatomically restricted regions of the lateral amygdala (LA) following Pavlovian fear conditioning and that blockade of ERK/MAPK activation in the LA impairs both fear memory consolidation and long-term potentiation (LTP) in the amygdala, in vitro. The present experiments evaluated the role of the ERK/MAPK signaling cascade in LTP at thalamo-LA input synapses, in vivo. We first show that ERK/MAPK is transiently activated/phosphorylated in the LA at 5 min, but not 15 or 60 min, after high-frequency, but not low-frequency, stimulation of the auditory thalamus. ERK activation induced by LTP-inducing stimulation was anatomically restricted to the same regions of the LA previously shown to exhibit ERK regulation following fear conditioning. We next show that intra-LA infusion of U0126, an inhibitor of ERK/MAPK activation, impairs LTP at thalamo-LA input synapses. Collectively, results demonstrate that ERK/MAPK activation is necessary for synaptic plasticity in anatomically defined regions of the LA, in vivo.

Domaines: Neurobiologie; Psychologie et comportements; Sciences cognitives

Glenn E. Schafe, Michael W. Swank, Sarina M. Rodrigues, Jacek Debiec, Valérie Doyère. Phosphorylation of ERK/MAP kinase is required for long-term potentiation in anatomically restricted regions of the lateral amygdala in vivo.. Learning and Memory, 2008, 15 (2), pp.55-62. ⟨10.1101/lm.746808⟩. ⟨hal-01468035⟩