Inducible and cell-type restricted manipulation in the entorhinal cortex.
The entorhinal cortex functions as the gateway to the hippocampal formation. However, its role in formation and consolidation of hippocampus-dependent memory remains relatively unexplored. In this issue of Neuron, Yasuda and Mayford report an elegant cell-type restricted inducible transgenic mouse overexpressing a mutant form of CaM kinase II selectively in superficial layers of medial entorhinal cortex and its upstream regions. These animals display a selective spatial memory deficit during the immediate posttraining period as well as during acquisition in the Morris water maze. Similar to the hippocampus, this time-limited involvement of entorhinal cortex in spatial memory processing suggests a crucial role for hippocampal-entorhinal circuitry in spatial memory formation.
Nakazawa
Kazu
K
Intramural Research Program, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, 35 Convent Drive, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA.
D000818:Animals; D054732:Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase Type 2; D017871:Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinases / Q000235:genetics; D018728:Entorhinal Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009154:Mutation; D013037:Spatial Behavior / Q000502:physiology*
D054732:Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase Type 2; D017871:Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinases