Short- and long-term memory follow different paths in the brain

Not all long-term memories have been short-term memories beforehand, according to a study by the neuropharmacology laboratory at the Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Pompeu Fabra University (DCEXS-UPF).

In this work, done with mice, the researchers have analysed the role of protein kinase C – a protein involved in neuronal plasticity – during memory formation.

“Mice without the protein kinase C gamma gene have good long-term memory, but have problems encoding short-term memory”, explains Maria Gomis-Gonzalez, co-author of the article. She is currently continuing her research at the  Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM), another of the PRBB centers.

In addition to memory tests, the researchers, led by Andrés Ozaita, observed that these mice have deficient neuronal activation in the hippocampus, a brain region known to be essential for the generation of memories.