image: The memory molecule, PKMzeta, is overexpressed in selected potential contact points ("dendritic spines," yellow arrows) of neurons in the rat cortex. Rats made to overexpress this molecule in their brain come to have a stronger long-term memory. The red color (left panel) indicates PKMzeta, and the green (middle panel) is a green-fluorescent protein (GFP) that 'reports' that the nerve cell has indeed been infected by the viruses used to overexpress the memory molecule. The variegated yellow (right panel) is the outcome of staining for both PKMzeta and GFP, confirming that they are indeed expressed in the same nerve cell, but in some contact points and not others. This image relates to an article that appeared in the March 4, 2011, issue of Science, published by AAAS. The study, by Dr. Reut Shema at Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, and colleagues was titled, "Enhancement of Consolidated Long-Term Memory by Overexpression of Protein Kinase MZeta in the Neocortex." view more
Credit: Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel