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A Physiological Role for Amyloid Beta Protein: Enhancement of Learning and Memory

John Morley¹, Susan Farr², William Banks³, Steven N. Johnson³, Kelvin A. Yamada⁴ & Lin Xu⁴

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1. Saint Louis University Health Sciences Center, Dept of Internal Medicine
2. Saint Louis University,
3. St. Louis Univ. Health Sciences Center, VAMC
4. Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine

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Date:

Received 24 July 2008 22:01 UTC; Posted 25 July 2008

Subjects:

Neuroscience

Tags:

• Amyloid Beta Protein
• memory

Abstract:

Amyloid beta protein (Aβ) is well recognized as having a significant role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The reason for the presence of Aβ and its physiological role in non-disease states is not clear. In these studies, low doses of Aβ enhanced memory retention in two memory tasks and enhanced acetylcholine production in the hippocampus in vivo. We then tested whether endogenous Aβ has a role in learning and memory in young, cognitively intact mice by blocking endogenous Aβ in healthy 2-month-old CD-1 mice. Blocking Aβ with antibody to Aβ or DFFVG (which blocks Aβ binding) or decreasing Aβ expression with an antisense directed at the Aβ precursor APP all resulted in impaired learning in T-maze foot-shock avoidance. Finally, Aβ1-42 facilitated induction and maintenance of long term potentiation in hippocampal slices, whereas antibodies to Aβ inhibited hippocampal LTP. These results indicate that in normal healthy young animals the presence of Aβ is important for learning and memory.

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This document is licensed to the public under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License

How to cite this document:

Morley, John, Farr, Susan, Banks, William, Johnson, Steven, Yamada, Kelvin, and Xu, Lin. A Physiological Role for Amyloid Beta Protein: Enhancement of Learning and Memory. Available from Nature Precedings <http://hdl.handle.net/10101/npre.2008.2119.1> (2008)

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