Cognitive Tagging of Neurons: CREMediated Genetic Labeling and Characterization of the Cells Involved in Learning and Memory

In this study, we describe use of Cre-mediated recombination to obtain a permanent genetic labeling of the brain neuronal networks activated during a new experience in animals. This method utilizes bitransgenic Fos-Cre-eGFP mice in which a green fluorescent protein is expressed upon tamoxifen-induced Cre-recombination only in the cells where immediate early gene c-fos expression takes place due to the new experience. We used the classical fear conditioning model to show that ex vivo microscopy of the eGFP protein in Fos-Cre-eGFP mice enables mapping of the neurons of the various brain regions that undergo Cre-recombination during acquisition of a new experience. We exposed the animals to the new environment in brief sessions and demonstrated that double immunohistochemical staining enables a characterization of the types of neocortical and hippocampal neurons that undergo experience-dependent Cre-recombination. Notably, Fos-Cre-eGFP labeled cells appeared to belong to excitatory pyramidal neurons rather than to various types of inhibitory neurons. We also showed that a combination of genetic Cre-eGFP labeling with immunohistochemical staining of the endogenous c-Fos protein allows one to identify and compare the neuronal populations that are activated during two different episodes of new experiences in the same animal. This new approach can be used in a wide spectrum of tasks that require imaging and a comparative analysis of cognitive neuronal networks.