Social recognition memory requires protein synthesis after reactivation.
Behavioral Neuroscience. 2007-01-01; 121(1): 148-155
DOI: 10.1037/0735-7044.121.1.148
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1. Behav Neurosci. 2007 Feb;121(1):148-55.
Social recognition memory requires protein synthesis after reactivation.
Perrin G(1), Ferreira G, Meurisse M, Verdin S, Mouly AM, Lévy F.
Author information:
(1)UMR85 Laboratoire de Physiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportements,
INRA, Nouzilly, France.
Recent evidence indicates that reactivation of consolidated memories returns them
to a protein-synthesis-dependent state called reconsolidation. The hypothesis
that memories reconsolidate has never been assessed in social memory. The authors
tested whether sheep (Ovis aries) mothers’ memory of their lambs undergoes
reconsolidation upon reactivation. After 7 days of mother-young contact, ewes
were separated from their lambs for 8 hr, after which the lambs were reintroduced
to their mothers for a 10-min reactivation session. Before reactivation, mothers
received a subcutaneous injection of either the protein-synthesis inhibitor
cycloheximide (CY, 1 mg/kg) or vehicle. Mothers’ lamb memory was tested 1 hr
(short-term memory [STM]) or 16 hr (long-term memory [LTM]) after reactivation.
Mothers treated with CY exhibited intact STM but deficient LTM. CY injection
without reactivation or before presentation of an alien lamb induced no deficit
in LTM. CY-induced LTM deficit was alleviated by (a) introducing a reminder just
before the LTM test, (b) extending mother-young contact, and (c) preventing
suckling by the familiar lamb during reactivation. Thus, reconsolidation can be
shown to exist in social memory, and some of its boundary conditions are
discussed.
Copyright (c) 2007 APA, all rights reserved.
DOI: 10.1037/0735-7044.121.1.148
PMID: 17324059 [Indexed for MEDLINE]