title: Remodeling of reciprocal synapses associated with persistence of long-term memory.
abstract: We investigated a model of long-term memory in which the female mouse establishes pheromonal memory of its partner at mating. We examined the reciprocal synapses of the accessory olfactory bulb and found that pheromonal memory was associated with morphological changes in excitatory synapses in the early phase of memory acquisition and by changes in inhibitory synapses in the late phases of memory persistence. After extinction of pheromonal memory, these morphological changes were no longer present. These findings suggest that the persistence of pheromonal memory is associated with continuous and dynamic changes in the morphological plasticity of reciprocal synapses in the accessory olfactory bulb.
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurobiology and Anatomy, Department of Sensory and Integrative Medicine, Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata, Japan. winner@med.niigata-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Masato
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Matsuoka
authors.forename: Hideto
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kaba
authors.forename: Keiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Moriya
authors.forename: Junko
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yoshida-Matsuoka
authors.forename: Richard M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Costanzo
authors.forename: Masao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Norita
authors.forename: Masumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ichikawa
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D005260:Female; D008568:Memory / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D009433:Neural Inhibition; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000187:drug effects; D009830:Olfactory Bulb / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D012724:Sex Attractants / Q000494:pharmacology; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology; D013569:Synapses / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D012724:Sex Attractants