Hippocampal synaptic plasticity, spatial memory and anxiety

• Published in: Nature reviews. Neuroscience Vol. 15; no. 3; pp. 181 - 192
• Main Authors: Bannerman, David M., Sprengel, Rolf, Sanderson, David J., McHugh, Stephen B., Rawlins, J. Nicholas P., Monyer, Hannah, Seeburg, Peter H.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01.03.2014; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 42/109; 42/35; 42/44; 631/378/1595/1554; 631/378/1595/1636; 631/378/1595/1637; 631/378/1595/3922; 64/60; 9/30; 9/74; 9/97; Animal Genetics and Genomics; Animals; Anxiety; Anxiety - physiopathology; Behavior, Animal - physiology; Behavioral Sciences; Biological Techniques; Biomedicine; Genetic aspects; Hippocampus - physiology; Hippocampus - physiopathology; Memory - physiology; Methyl aspartate; Mice; Mice, Knockout; Neurobiology; Neuronal Plasticity - physiology; Neuroplasticity; Neurosciences; opinion-2; Physiological aspects; Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate - genetics; Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate - metabolism; Risk factors; Space Perception - physiology; Synapses - physiology; Synaptic Transmission - physiology; United Kingdom
• ISSN: 1471-003X; 1471-0048; 1469-3178
• DOI: 10.1038/nrn3677

In this Perspective, Seeburg and colleagues re-examine the role of the hippocampus in spatial learning in light of recent findings. They also suggest that the hippocampus has a role in resolving conflict or uncertainty that might also explain its role in anxiety. Recent studies using transgenic mice lacking NMDA receptors in the hippocampus challenge the long-standing hypothesis that hippocampal long-term potentiation-like mechanisms underlie the encoding and storage of associative long-term spatial memories. However, it may not be the synaptic plasticity-dependent memory hypothesis that is wrong; instead, it may be the role of the hippocampus that needs to be re-examined. We present an account of hippocampal function that explains its role in both memory and anxiety.