One of the hallmarks of Alzheimer disease (AD) is a loss in hippocampus-dependent episodic memory. Whether this results from a failure in memory storage or retrieval is unknown. In a contextual fear conditioning (CFC) model, transgenic mouse models of early AD have defects in long-term memory (LTM) and show age-dependent spinal loss of dentate gyrus (DG) cells. Optogenetically induced long-term potentiation of DG neurons activated during CFC learning (called engram cells) induced memory retrieval, and reduced spinal loss and LTM deficits, suggesting a possible strategy for reversing memory loss in early AD.
References
Roy, D. S. et al. Memory retrieval by activating engram cells in mouse models of early Alzheimer's disease. Nature 531, 508–512 (2016)
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Lewis, S. A storage or retrieval problem?. Nat Rev Neurosci 17, 264 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn.2016.48
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn.2016.48