Sathya Puthanveettil

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  Axonal Transport and Long-Term Memory Storage
  Sathya Puthanveettil

  Little is known regarding the identity of the population of proteins and RNAs that are transported to and localized to synapses and how this transport is regulated in neurons. To address this, using the sea slug Aplysia californica and mice, we have begun to study the molecular composition of transport complexes and how the transport is regulated during long-term memory storage. We find that several hundreds of proteins and RNAs are transported by kinesins, the molecular motor that mediate anterograde transport to synapses from the cell body. We further find that axonal transport is regulated in specific neurons for long-term memory storage. These studies bring important insights into the function of axonal transport in synapse formation and memory storage.