International Journal of Molecular Sciences (Jan 2010)

ERK in Learning and Memory: A Review of Recent Research

  • Bingxu Ren,
  • Hua Wang,
  • Jiannan Zhang,
  • Yan Zhang,
  • Sheng Peng

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms11010222
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11, no. 1
pp. 222 – 232

Abstract

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The extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway is a member of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) superfamily, which is an important, highly conserved family of enzymes associated with cell membrane receptors and regulative targets. In the central nervous system, there is almost no mature neuronal proliferation and differentiation, but the regulation of MAPK and its upstream and downstream molecular pathways is still widespread, with the ERK signaling pathway being one of the most actively studied signal transduction pathways. It is activated by a variety of cell growth factors and substances which promote mitotic activity, and transmits extracellular signals from the cell surface to the nucleus, which transmission plays an important role in the process of cell proliferation and differentiation. In recent years, accumulating evidence has shown that the ERK signaling pathway has an important link with the higher functions of learning and memory.

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