美国斯坦福大学Thomas C. Südhof等研究人员合作发现，皮层杏仁核巩固社会传递的长期记忆。这一研究成果于2024年7月3日在线发表在国际学术期刊《自然》上。

研究人员发现，皮层杏仁核的后内侧核（COApm）通过整合社交和感官嗅觉输入，作为长期食物偏好社会传递（STFP）记忆巩固的计算中心。阻断基于COApm的回路的突触信号，选择性地消除了STFP记忆的巩固，而不影响记忆的获得、存储或回忆。COApm介导的STFP记忆巩固依赖于来自附属嗅球的突触输入和向前嗅核的突触输出。STFP记忆巩固需要蛋白质合成，提示存在基因表达机制。

深度单细胞和空间解析转录组学揭示了在COApm中由STFP记忆形成诱导的强烈但不同的基因表达特征，这与突触重构一致。因此，这些数据定义了一个用于巩固社会传递的长期记忆的神经回路，从而在机制上区分了依赖于蛋白质合成的记忆巩固与记忆获取、存储或检索。

据悉，社交沟通指导决策，这对生存至关重要。STFP是一种生态相关的记忆范式，其中动物在社交环境中从另一只动物那里学习到一种理想的食物气味，从而形成长期记忆。然而，食物偏好记忆是如何获得、巩固和存储的尚不清楚。

附：英文原文

Title: The cortical amygdala consolidates a socially transmitted long-term memory

Author: Liu, Zhihui, Sun, Wenfei, Ng, Yi Han, Dong, Hua, Quake, Stephen R., Sdhof, Thomas C.

Issue&Volume: 2024-07-03

Abstract: Social communication guides decision-making, which is essential for survival. Social transmission of food preference (STFP) is an ecologically relevant memory paradigm in which an animal learns a desirable food odour from another animal in a social context, creating a long-term memory1,2. How food-preference memory is acquired, consolidated and stored is unclear. Here we show that the posteromedial nucleus of the cortical amygdala (COApm) serves as a computational centre in long-term STFP memory consolidation by integrating social and sensory olfactory inputs. Blocking synaptic signalling by the COApm-based circuit selectively abolished STFP memory consolidation without impairing memory acquisition, storage or recall. COApm-mediated STFP memory consolidation depends on synaptic inputs from the accessory olfactory bulb and on synaptic outputs to the anterior olfactory nucleus. STFP memory consolidation requires protein synthesis, suggesting a gene-expression mechanism. Deep single-cell and spatially resolved transcriptomics revealed robust but distinct gene-expression signatures induced by STFP memory formation in the COApm that are consistent with synapse restructuring. Our data thus define a neural circuit for the consolidation of a socially communicated long-term memory, thereby mechanistically distinguishing protein-synthesis-dependent memory consolidation from memory acquisition, storage or retrieval.

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07632-5

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07632-5