Suppression of Cofilin function in the somatosensory cortex alters social contact behavior in the BTBR mouse inbred line.

Sensory differences are a core feature of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and are predictive of other ASD core symptoms such as social difficulties. However, the neurobiological substrate underlying the functional relationship between sensory and social functioning is poorly understood. Here, we examined whether misregulation of structural plasticity in the somatosensory cortex modulates aberrant social functioning in BTBR mice, a mouse model for autism spectrum disorder-like phenotypes.

Cofilin overactivation improves hippocampus-dependent short-term memory.

Many living organisms of the animal kingdom have the fundamental ability to form and retrieve memories. Most information is initially stored as short-term memory, which is then converted to a more stable long-term memory through a process called memory consolidation. At the neuronal level, synaptic plasticity is crucial for memory storage.

Recovering object-location memories after sleep deprivation-induced amnesia.

It is well established that sleep deprivation after learning impairs hippocampal memory processes and can cause amnesia. It is unknown, however, whether sleep deprivation leads to the loss of information or merely the suboptimal storage of information that is difficult to retrieve. Here, we show that hippocampal object-location memories formed under sleep deprivation conditions can be successfully retrieved multiple days following training, using optogenetic dentate gyrus (DG) memory engram activation or treatment with the clinically approved phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) inhibitor roflumilast.

Elucidating the role of protein synthesis in hippocampus-dependent memory consolidation across the day and night.

It is widely acknowledged that de novo protein synthesis is crucial for the formation and consolidation of long-term memories. While the basal activity of many signaling cascades that modulate protein synthesis fluctuates in a circadian fashion, it is unclear whether the temporal dynamics of protein synthesis-dependent memory consolidation vary depending on the time of day. More specifically, it is unclear whether protein synthesis inhibition affects hippocampus-dependent memory consolidation in rodents differentially across the day (i.