Cellular mechanism of place cell activity in hippocampal CA1

Abstract

The hippocampus is essential to the spatial memory of both humans and animals. Recent studies have revealed that the activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associated protein (Arc) gene expression in the hippocampus is crucial for memory consolidation and synaptic plasticity. This study investigated the function of Arc in the hippocampus at the cellular level by injecting an Adeno-associated viral vector with small hairpin RNA against the Arc gene and green fluorescent protein into the CA1 region on the left or right side of a rat’s hippocampus. Results showed that Arc knockdown can destroy the formation of place fields or decrease the mapping accuracy. Moreover, the recall property of place cells was lost after knockdown. These results indicate that the Arc gene is critical for memory consolidation at the cellular level.