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NGF Is Essential for Hippocampal Plasticity and Learning

Year: 2009
Type: article
Abstract: Nerve growth factor (NGF) is produced in the hippocampus throughout life and is retrogradely trafficked to septal cholinergic neurons, providing a potential mechanism for modulating cholinergic inputs and, thereby, hippocampal plasticity. To explore NGF modulation of hippocampal plasticity and function, NGF levels were augmented or blocked in intact adult rats, and subsequent in vivo effects on cholinergic neurons, hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP), and learning were examined. NGF augmentation significantly enhanced cholinergic neuronal markers and facilitated induction of hippocampal LTP. Blockade of endogenous NGF significantly reduced hippocampal LTP and impaired retention of spatial memory. These findings reveal an essential role for NGF in regulating biological mechanisms related to plasticity and memory in the intact adult brain.
DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2594-09.2009
Authors: James M. Conner, Kevin M. Franks, Andrea K. Titterness, Kyle Russell, David A. Merrill, Brian R. Christie, Terrence J. Sejnowski, Mark H. Tuszynski
Language: English
Open Access status: hybrid
Funders: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Alzheimer's Association, National Institutes of Health, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, National Institute on Aging, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
OpenAlex ID: W2069958148
FWCI: 3.195
Cites: 61
Cited by: 187
Related to: 10