Artigo de periódico
Short- and long-term memory : differential involvement of neurotransmitter systems and signal transduction cascades
Autor
Vianna, Monica Ryff Moreira Roca
Izquierdo, Luciana Adriana
Barros, Daniela Marti
Walz, Roger
Medina, Jorge Horácio
Izquierdo, Ivan Antonio
Resumen
Since William James (1890) first distinguished primary from secondary memory, equivalent to short- and longterm memory, respectively, it has been assumed that short-term memory processes are in charge of cognition while long-term memory is being consolidated. From those days a major question has been whether shortterm memory is merely a initial phase of long-term memory, or a separate phenomena. Recent experiments have shown that many treatments with specific molecular actions given into the hippocampus and related brain areas after one-trial avoidance learning can effectively cancel short-term memory without affecting long-term memory formation. This shows that short-term memory and long-term memory involve separate mechanisms and are independently processed. Other treatments, however, influence both memory types similarly, suggesting links between both at the receptor and at the post-receptor level, which should not be surprising as they both deal with nearly the same sensorimotor representations. This review examines recent advances in short- and long-term memory mechanisms based on the effect of intra-hippocampal infusion of drugs acting upon neurotransmitter and signal transduction systems on both memory types.