title: Erasing sensorimotor memories via PKMzeta inhibition.
abstract: Sensorimotor cortex has a role in procedural learning. Previous studies suggested that this learning is subserved by long-term potentiation (LTP), which is in turn maintained by the persistently active kinase, protein kinase Mzeta (PKMzeta). Whereas the role of PKMzeta in animal models of declarative knowledge is established, its effect on procedural knowledge is not well understood. Here we show that PKMzeta inhibition, via injection of zeta inhibitory peptide (ZIP) into the rat sensorimotor cortex, disrupts sensorimotor memories for a skilled reaching task even after several weeks of training. The rate of relearning the task after the memory disruption by ZIP was indistinguishable from the rate of initial learning, suggesting no significant savings after the memory loss. These results indicate a shared molecular mechanism of storage for declarative and procedural forms of memory.
authors.affiliation: Graduate Program in Neural and Behavioral Science, State University of New York Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York, United States of America.
authors.forename: Lee Michael
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: von Kraus
authors.forename: Todd Charlton
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Sacktor
authors.forename: Joseph Thachil
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Francis
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D008568:Memory / Q000187:drug effects*; D011493:Protein Kinase C / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D020318:Rats, Long-Evans
chemical_list: D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors; D011493:Protein Kinase C; C504730:protein kinase M zeta, rat