| First Author | Brambilla R | Year | 1997 |
| Journal | Nature | Volume | 390 |
| Issue | 6657 | Pages | 281-6 |
| PubMed ID | 9384379 | Mgi Jnum | J:73879 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:2156988 | Doi | 10.1038/36849 |
| Citation | Brambilla R, et al. (1997) A role for the Ras signalling pathway in synaptic transmission and long-term memory. Nature 390(6657):281-6 |
| abstractText | Members of the Ras subfamily of small guanine-nucleotide-binding proteins are essential for controlling normal and malignant cell proliferation as well as cell differentiation. The neuronal-specific guanine-nucleotide-exchange factor, Ras-GRF/CDC25Mm, induces Ras signalling in response to Ca2+ influx and activation of G-protein-coupled receptors in vitro, suggesting that it plays a role in neurotransmission and plasticity in vivo. Here we report that mice lacking Ras-GRF are impaired in the process of memory consolidation, as revealed by emotional conditioning tasks that require the function of the amygdala; learning and short-term memory are intact. Electrophysiological measurements in the basolateral amygdala reveal that long-term plasticity is abnormal in mutant mice. In contrast, Ras-GRF mutants do not reveal major deficits in spatial learning tasks such as the Morris water maze, a test that requires hippocampal function. Consistent with apparently normal hippocampal functions, Ras-GRF mutants show normal NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptor-dependent long-term potentiation in this structure. These results implicate Ras-GRF signalling via the Ras/MAP kinase pathway in synaptic events leading to formation of long-term memories. |
