Ricerc@Sapienza

It has become recently possible to identify engram neurons holding memory traces in the brain, by tagging them with actuators to specifically ablate or activate them in relation to a memory task. However, a whole neuron is unlikely to be the unitary substrate of memory and there is a gap between the classic field of synaptic plasticity studies and the emerging field of cell engrams. To fill this gap, a leap from the cellular to the synaptic level is required. We define a synaptic engram as a population of tagged synapses that are necessary and sufficient for the establishment of a given memory. However, ways to experimentally demonstrate synaptic engrams by selectively controlling the activity of potentiated spines were lacking until recently. Prof. Antonino Cattaneo has recently developed a new method to achieve the local expression of actuators at potentiated synapses, enabling their selective tagging following the encoding of a memory. The overarching aim of the project is to exploit this strategy to to enquire to what extent microglia orchestrate and contributes to the induction/formation and consolidation of synaptic memory engrams. This innovative project will allow a quantum leap in our understanding of memory processes.