| First Author | Shimazu K | Year | 2006 |
| Journal | Learn Mem | Volume | 13 |
| Issue | 3 | Pages | 307-15 |
| PubMed ID | 16705139 | Mgi Jnum | J:135724 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:3794372 | Doi | 10.1101/lm.76006 |
| Citation | Shimazu K, et al. (2006) NT-3 facilitates hippocampal plasticity and learning and memory by regulating neurogenesis. Learn Mem 13(3):307-15 |
| abstractText | In the adult brain, the expression of NT-3 is largely confined to the hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG), an area exhibiting significant neurogenesis. Using a conditional mutant line in which the NT-3 gene is deleted in the brain, we investigated the role of NT-3 in adult neurogenesis, hippocampal plasticity, and memory. Bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU)-labeling experiments demonstrated that differentiation, rather than proliferation, of the neuronal precursor cells (NPCs) was significantly impaired in DG lacking NT-3. Triple labeling for BrdU, the neuronal marker NeuN, and the glial marker GFAP indicated that NT-3 affects the number of newly differentiated neurons, but not glia, in DG. Field recordings revealed a selective impairment in long-term potentiation (LTP) in the lateral, but not medial perforant path-granule neuron synapses. In parallel, the NT-3 mutant mice exhibited deficits in spatial memory tasks. In addition to identifying a novel role for NT-3 in adult NPC differentiation in vivo, our study provides a potential link between neurogenesis, dentate LTP, and spatial memory. |
