Author:
Akirav Irit,Kozenicky Maya,Tal Dadi,Sandi Carmen,Venero Cesar,Richter-Levin Gal
Abstract
Emotionally charged experiences alter memory storage via the activation of
hormonal systems. Previously, we have shown that compared with rats trained
for a massed spatial learning task in the water maze in warm water (25°C),
animals that were trained in cold water (19°C) performed better and showed
higher levels of the stress hormone corticosterone. Here, we examined whether
manipulating the levels of corticosterone can determine the strength of
spatial information acquisition and retention. Rats were injected with
metyrapone (25, 50, and 75 mg/kg, i.p.) or with corticosterone (10 and 25
mg/kg, i.p.) and trained in a massed spatial task in either cold (19°C) or
warm (25°C) water. We found that whereas animals injected with vehicle
performed well in the spatial task in cold water (moderate stress), rats
injected with the intermediate metyrapone dose showed impairment in
performance. Moreover, whereas animals injected with vehicle on average did
not perform well in warm water (mild stress), rats injected with the lower
corticosterone dose showed improvement in performance in warm water. These two
mirror experiments of corticosterone blockade and enhancement strongly suggest
that corticosterone is instrumental in the acquisition and retention of the
spatial learning task.
Publisher
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Subject
Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience,Cognitive Neuroscience,Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology
Cited by
138 articles.
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