Inactivation of the basolateral amygdala impairs the retrieval of recent and remote taste-potentiated odor aversion memory.
Neurobiol Learn Mem
; 92(4): 590-6, 2009 Nov.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-19643197
ABSTRACT
Memory reorganization as a time-dependent process can be investigated using various learning tasks such as the taste-potentiated odor aversion (TPOA). In this paradigm rats acquire a strong aversion to an olfactory cue presented simultaneously with a gustatory cue. Together these cues are paired with a delayed visceral illness. The basolateral amygdaloid nucleus (BLA) plays a key role in TPOA acquisition but its involvement in retrieval remains unclear. We investigated the involvement of the BLA in either recent or remote retrieval of TPOA. In each case, the number of licks observed in response to the presentation of either the odor or the taste was used to assess retrieval. Before the retrieval test, rats received a bilateral infusion of lidocaine to inactivate the BLA. We observed that both recent and remote TPOA retrieval tests induced by the odor presentation were disrupted in the lidocaine-injected rats. By contrast, the BLA inactivation had no effect upon the aversion towards the taste cue regardless of the time of retrieval. The present study provides evidence that BLA functioning is necessary for retrieval of aversive odor memory, even with a long post-acquisition delay.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Association Learning
/
Avoidance Learning
/
Olfactory Perception
/
Taste Perception
/
Amygdala
/
Memory
Limits:
Animals
Language:
En
Journal:
Neurobiol Learn Mem
Journal subject:
BIOLOGIA
/
CIENCIAS DO COMPORTAMENTO
/
NEUROLOGIA
Year:
2009
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
France