고려대학교 생명과학대학 생명과학부/ 대학원 분자생명과학과

One of the great challenges in the 21^stcentury is to understand the biology of mental activity or mind. One of key components in the mind is learning and memory. Learning is the process by which we obtain the information about the external world; memory is the process by which that information is stored and retrieved. My lab has been interested in addressing (1) what molecular mechanism underlies memory consolidation; (2) how memory is reorganized during reconsolidation process; (3) how we can erase our bad memory. To address these issues, we have used two experimental animal models: Aplysia and mouse. Today, I will introduce some of the key molecules that are critically involved in memory processes via synaptic plasticity in the nervous system. We found that signaling molecules and transcriptional factors required for memory consolidation are evolutionarily conserved. As memory is a dynamic and mutable process, we found that memory reorganization occurs via disruption of pre-existing memory by proteasome-dependent protein degradation and update of new information by protein synthesis. Finally I will show how synaptic plasticity and synaptic events are critically involved not only in learning and memory, but also in neurological and psychiatric disorders such as chronic pain and autism.