Context memory formed in medial prefrontal cortex during infancy enhances learning in adulthood.

Autor: Contreras MP; Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.; Graduate School of Neural & Behavioral Science, International Max Planck Research School, Tübingen, Germany.; Leibniz-Institute of Neurobiology, Magdeburg, Germany., Mendez M; Laboratory of Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, Instituto de Neurociencias del Principado de Asturias (INEUROPA), University of Oviedo, Plaza Feijoo, Oviedo, Spain., Shan X; Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.; Graduate School of Neural & Behavioral Science, International Max Planck Research School, Tübingen, Germany., Fechner J; Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.; Graduate School of Neural & Behavioral Science, International Max Planck Research School, Tübingen, Germany., Sawangjit A; Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany., Born J; Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany. jan.born@uni-tuebingen.de.; Werner Reichert Center for Integrative Neuroscience, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany. jan.born@uni-tuebingen.de.; German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD)-Institute for Diabetes Research and Metabolic Diseases of the Helmholtz Center Munich (IDM) at the University Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany. jan.born@uni-tuebingen.de., Inostroza M; Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany. marion.inostroza@uni-tuebingen.de.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Nature communications [Nat Commun] 2024 Mar 20; Vol. 15 (1), pp. 2475. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Mar 20.
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-46734-6
Abstrakt: Adult behavior is commonly thought to be shaped by early-life experience, although episodes experienced during infancy appear to be forgotten. Exposing male rats during infancy to discrete spatial experience we show that these rats in adulthood are significantly better at forming a spatial memory than control rats without such infantile experience. We moreover show that the adult rats' improved spatial memory capability is mainly based on memory for context information during the infantile experiences. Infantile spatial experience increased c-Fos activity at memory testing during adulthood in the prelimbic medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), but not in the hippocampus. Inhibiting prelimbic mPFC at testing during adulthood abolished the enhancing effect of infantile spatial experience on learning. Adult spatial memory capability only benefitted from spatial experience occurring during the sensitive period of infancy, but not when occurring later during childhood, and when sleep followed the infantile experience. In conclusion, the infantile brain, by a sleep-dependent mechanism, favors consolidation of memory for the context in which episodes are experienced. These representations comprise mPFC regions and context-dependently facilitate learning in adulthood.
(© 2024. The Author(s).)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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