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Ethanol Enhances Reactivated Fear Memories
- Source :
- Neuropsychopharmacology. 33:2912-2921
- Publication Year :
- 2008
- Publisher :
- Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2008.
-
Abstract
- Although ethanol has been shown to impair acquisition of memory, its effect on consolidated memories is not clear. Recent reports revealed that memory retrieval converted consolidated memory into a labile state and initiated the reconsolidation process. In the present study, we have demonstrated the effect of ethanol on reactivated fear memory. We used contextual fear conditioning where rats were conditioned with mild footshock, re-exposed to the training context for 2 min, immediately injected with ethanol or saline, and finally tested 48 h after re-exposure. Ethanol-treated groups demonstrated longer freezing and the effect lasted for 2 weeks. Reactivation is necessary for this effect. Injection of ethanol itself did not induce a fearful response. Reactivated and ethanol-treated rats exhibited longer freezing than non-reactivated controls, suggesting that ethanol does not inhibit the memory decline but facilitates the fear memory. Two minute re-exposures induced no or little extinction. The effect of ethanol was specific for 2-min reactivation, which induces reconsolidation. Moreover, we found that picrotoxin inhibited the memory enhancement that was produced by ethanol administered just after the reactivation. These studies demonstrate that ethanol enhances reactivated contextual fear memories via activation of GABAA receptors. Neuropsychopharmacology (2008) 33, 2912–2921; doi:10.1038/npp.2008.13; published online 20 February 2008
- Subjects :
- Male
medicine.medical_specialty
Context (language use)
Synaptic Transmission
Developmental psychology
GABA Antagonists
Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemistry.chemical_compound
Alcohol-Induced Disorders, Nervous System
Memory
Internal medicine
Conditioning, Psychological
medicine
Animals
Learning
Fear conditioning
Neurotransmitter
gamma-Aminobutyric Acid
Brain Chemistry
Pharmacology
Ethanol
GABAA receptor
Memoria
Brain
Central Nervous System Depressants
Neural Inhibition
Fear
Extinction (psychology)
Receptors, GABA-A
Rats
Disease Models, Animal
Psychiatry and Mental health
Endocrinology
chemistry
Memory consolidation
Psychology
Picrotoxin
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 1740634X and 0893133X
- Volume :
- 33
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Neuropsychopharmacology
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....37c7cd94b7b8a36fa13c560ed4cd1f65