Short-and long-term memory: differential involvement of neurotransmitter systems and signal transduction cascades

• Autor(a) principal: Vianna, Mônica Ryff Moreira Roca
• Data de Publicação: 2000
• Outros Autores: Izquierdo, Luciana Adriana, Barros, Daniela Marti, Walz, Roger, Medina, Jorge Horacio, Izquierdo, Ivan Antônio
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Institucional da FURG (RI FURG)
• Texto Completo: http://repositorio.furg.br/handle/1/2839; http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0001-37652000000300009
• topic: Short-term memory; Long-term memory; Hippocampus; PKA; PKC; MAPK

SinceWilliam James (1890) first distinguished primary from secondary memory, equivalent to short- and longterm memory, respectively, it has been assumed that short-term memory processes are in charge of cognition while long-term memory is being consolidated. From those days a major question has been whether shortterm memory is merely a initial phase of long-term memory, or a separate phenomena. Recent experiments have shown that many treatments with specific molecular actions given into the hippocampus and related brain areas after one-trial avoidance learning can effectively cancel short-term memory without affecting long-term memory formation. This shows that short-term memory and long-term memory involve separate mechanisms and are independently processed. Other treatments, however, influence both memory types similarly, suggesting links between both at the receptor and at the post-receptor level, which should not be surprising as they both deal with nearly the same sensorimotor representations. This review examines recent advances in short- and long-term memory mechanisms based on the effect of intra-hippocampal infusion of drugs acting upon neurotransmitter and signal transduction systems on both memory types.