Orai1 Channels Are Essential for Amplification of Glutamate-Evoked Ca(2+) Signals in Dendritic Spines to Regulate Working and Associative Memory

Store-operated Orai1 calcium channels function as highly Ca(2+)-selective ion channels and are broadly expressed in many tissues including the central nervous system, but their contributions to cognitive processing are largely unknown. Here, we report that many measures of synaptic, cellular, and behavioral models of learning are markedly attenuated in mice lacking Orai1 in forebrain excitatory neurons. Results with focal glutamate uncaging in hippocampal neurons support an essential role of Orai1 channels in amplifying NMDA-receptor-induced dendritic Ca(2+) transients that drive activity-dependent spine morphogenesis and long-term potentiation at Schaffer collateral-CA1 synapses. Consistent with these signaling roles, mice lacking Orai1 in pyramidal neurons (but not interneurons) exhibit striking deficits in working and associative memory tasks. These findings identify Orai1 channels as essential regulators of dendritic spine Ca(2+) signaling, synaptic plasticity, and cognition.