Neurobiology of learning and memory
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Neurobiol Learn Mem · May 2010
Involvement of dorsal hippocampal alpha-adrenergic receptors in the effect of scopolamine on memory retrieval in inhibitory avoidance task.
The present study evaluated the possible role of alpha-adrenergic receptors of the dorsal hippocampus on scopolamine-induced amnesia and scopolamine state-dependent memory in adult male Wistar rats. The animals were bilaterally implanted with chronic cannulae in the CA1 regions of the dorsal hippocampus, trained in a step-through type inhibitory avoidance task, and tested 24h after training to measure step-through latency. Results indicate that post-training or pre-test intra-CA1 administration of scopolamine (1 and 2 microg/rat) dose-dependently reduced the step-through latency, showing an amnestic response. ⋯ On the other hand, pre-test injection of alpha1-receptors antagonist prazosin (1 and 2 microg/rat) or alpha2-receptors antagonist yohimbine (1 and 2 microg/rat) prevented the restoration of memory by pre-test scopolamine. It is important to note that pre-test intra-CA1 administration of the same doses of prazosin or yohimbine, alone did not affect memory retrieval. These results suggest that alpha1- and alpha2-adrenergic receptors of the dorsal hippocampal CA1 regions may play an important role in scopolamine-induced amnesia and scopolamine state-dependent memory.
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Neurobiol Learn Mem · May 2010
US habituation, like CS extinction, produces a decrement in conditioned fear responding that is NMDA dependent and subject to renewal and reinstatement.
Just as fear can be learned, it can also be inhibited. The most common way of reducing learned fear is through extinction, where the conditioned stimulus (CS) previously paired with an aversive unconditioned stimulus (US) is repeatedly presented on its own. Another, much less commonly studied, way to inhibit learned fear is by habituating, or devaluing, the US. ⋯ We then showed that the reduction in freezing resulting from either US habituation or CS extinction was context-specific (i.e., a change in context led to a renewal of the learned fear response; Experiment 2) and, furthermore, was attenuated when a pre-test shock was given (i.e., reinstatement of fear was observed in both cases; Experiment 3). Finally, Experiment 4 demonstrated that an injection of the NMDA antagonist MK-801 prior to US habituation impaired long-term retention of the learning that takes place during this procedure. Together, these results suggest that the decrement in conditioned fear responses produced by US habituation and CS extinction could rely on overlapping processes.