OIST Finds Mice Keep Memories After 50% of Hippocampal Synapses Vanish in 2-Day Hibernation
Updated
Updated · dongascience.com · Aug 22
OIST Finds Mice Keep Memories After 50% of Hippocampal Synapses Vanish in 2-Day Hibernation
3 articles · Updated · dongascience.com · Aug 22
Summary
More than half of hippocampal synapses disappeared within 24 hours of induced hibernation, yet mice still recalled pre-hibernation learning after waking, OIST researchers reported in Science.
Brain activity also fell about 70%, but the animals still found food in a maze and froze in places where they had previously received electric shocks.
Detailed imaging showed clustered synapses persisted through hibernation, while non-clustered synapses vanished and later reappeared, pointing to different roles in storing versus recalling memories.
The findings challenge the long-held view that stable synapses must remain intact for memories to survive and could reshape research on memory mechanisms.