The molecular biology of memory: cAMP, PKA, CRE, CREB-1, CREB-2, and CPEB

• Published in: Molecular brain Vol. 5; no. 1; p. 14
• Main Author: Kandel, Eric R
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London BioMed Central 14.05.2012; BioMed Central Ltd; BMC
• Subjects: Analysis; Animals; Behavior; Biology; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Cyclic adenylic acid; Cyclic AMP; Cyclic AMP - metabolism; Cyclic AMP Response Element-Binding Protein - metabolism; Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinases - metabolism; Humans; Long term memory; Memory; Molecular biology; Molecules of Memory; Neurology; Neurons; Neurophysiology; Neurosciences; Plasticity (synaptic); Protein kinase A; Psychopharmacology; Response Elements - genetics; Review; RNA-Binding Proteins - metabolism; Short term memory; Transmitters; Classical Conditioning; Synaptic Connection; Synaptic Plasticity; Sensory Neuron; Motor Neuron
• ISSN: 1756-6606; 1756-6606
• DOI: 10.1186/1756-6606-5-14

The analysis of the contributions to synaptic plasticity and memory of cAMP, PKA, CRE, CREB-1, CREB-2, and CPEB has recruited the efforts of many laboratories all over the world. These are six key steps in the molecular biological delineation of short-term memory and its conversion to long-term memory for both implicit (procedural) and explicit (declarative) memory. I here first trace the background for the clinical and behavioral studies of implicit memory that made a molecular biology of memory storage possible, and then detail the discovery and early history of these six molecular steps and their roles in explicit memory.