title: Motor skill learning enhances the expression of activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associated protein in the rat cerebellum.
abstract: Motor skill learning is essential for environmental adaptations during everyday life. It has been shown that the cerebellum plays an important role in both the adaptation of eye movements and the motor skill learning. However, the neuronal substrates responsible for consolidation of complex motor skills rather than simple reflexes are still uncertain. Because the induction of immediate-early genes activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associated protein (Arc) and zinc finger binding protein clone 268 (Zif268) has been regarded as a marker for recent neuronal activity, therefore, in the present study, a rat paradigm of motor skill learning was used to investigate the protein expression of Arc and zif268 in the cerebellum after motor skill learning. Rats were trained to traverse the runway apparatus for 5 days. Protein samples were collected from the cerebellar cortices 1 hour after the training on days 1, 3, and 5, and analyzed by western blotting. The results showed that the expression of Arc, but not zif268, was significantly increased in the cerebellum following motor skill learning. These findings suggest that motor skill learning induces Arc expression in the cerebellum, which may play a role in acquiring complex motor skills.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sports Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, 807, Taiwan, dcw@kmu.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Dean-Chuan
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yu-Yi
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Tsan-Ju
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Hwai-Ting
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Lin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002525:Cerebellar Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D051766:Early Growth Response Protein 1 / Q000378:metabolism*; D015870:Gene Expression; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D009048:Motor Skills / Q000502:physiology*; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; D051766:Early Growth Response Protein 1; C486110:Egr1 protein, rat; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; C092069:activity regulated cytoskeletal-associated protein