Involvement of hippocampal extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 in spatial working memory in rats

Taku Nagai, Hiroyuki Kamei, Misato Dohniwa, Masanori Takayanagi, Masakazu Suzuki, Takahiro Matsuya, Toshitaka Nabeshima, Kazuhiro Takuma, Kiyofumi Yamada

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

24 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The role of the phosphorylation of hippocampal extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 in spatial working memory in rats was assessed with a delayed spatial win-shift task in a radial arm maze. The task consisted of two phases, a training phase and a test phase, separated by a delay. Phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 levels were significantly and transiently increased in the hippocampus by 60 min, and then returned to the control levels 120 min after the training phase. Bilateral microinjections of the PD98059, an inhibitor of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 kinase MEK, into the hippocampus impaired performance in the test phase of the delayed spatial win-shift task at 5-min delay. These results suggest that extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 activation in the hippocampus plays a crucial role in spatial working memory.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1453-1457
Number of pages5
JournalNeuroreport
Volume17
Issue number13
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 09-2006
Externally publishedYes

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Neuroscience

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