PKMzeta , the "memory storage molecule" keeps long-term memories in the neocortex and its presence is continually required in order for the memory to endure. This is according to a finding by researchers at the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot, Israel and SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.
It was previously determined that PKMzeta in the hippocampus – an area of the brain involved in navigation and the initial storage of memory – was necessary to preserve spatial memory; but little was known about PKMzeta activity in the neocortex, the part of the brain thought to be responsible for permanently storing most long-term memories, including those required for higher-level cognitive functions, such as language and complex thought.This new finding – that inhibiting PKMzeta causes the rapid loss of neocortical memories learned even weeks before – means that persistent phosphorylation by PKMzeta in the neocortex is necessary to store these long-term memories and has potential clinical significance, for example, in the field of cognitive enhancement.
Source-Eurekalert
JAY/B
