Neurogenesis-mediated forgetting minimizes proactive interference.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 26917323.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/ncomms10838 and PMC identifier 4773435.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Established memories may interfere with the encoding of new memories, particularly when existing and new memories overlap in content. By manipulating levels of hippocampal neurogenesis, here we show that neurogenesis regulates this form of proactive interference. Increasing hippocampal neurogenesis weakens existing memories and, in doing so, facilitates the encoding of new, conflicting (but not non-conflicting) information in mice. Conversely, decreasing neurogenesis stabilizes existing memories, and impedes the encoding of new, conflicting information. These results suggest that reduced proactive interference is an adaptive benefit of neurogenesis-induced forgetting.
Medical subject headings
- Dentate Gyrus
- Maze Learning
- Neurogenesis
- Retention, Psychology
- Reversal Learning