Effects of post-study basolateral amygdala noradrenergic activation on long-term object recognition memory in rats Open Access

Abstract

The basolateral complex of the amygdala (BLA) modulates memory retention of emotional and neutral information, and emotional memories are longer lasting than neutral memories. Yet it is unclear whether BLA activation is involved in producing more stable memories characterized by slower forgetting rates. Additionally, the BLA projects to the hippocampus but preferentially targets the ventral hippocampus more than the dorsal hippocampus. The ventral hippocampus primarily encodes similar events throughout a context whereas the dorsal hippocampus primarily encodes the location in which events occur. Yet it is unclear whether BLA activation preferentially enhances retention of object-in-context information. In the present study, rats were given an object recognition memory task with 1-, 2-, and 3-day study-test delays and post-study BLA activation to investigate BLA modulation of memory stability. Rats were then given an object-in-context recognition memory task with a 1-day study-test delay and post-study BLA activation to investigate BLA-modulated retention of object-in-context information. The results indicated that BLA activation may not enhance memory stability but may enhance retention of object information rather than the predicted object-in-context information.

Table of Contents

Introduction..……………………………………………………………………………..…1

Experiment 1……………………………………………………………………………...…2

Method…………………………………………………………………………………….…..3

Results………………………………………………………………………………………....5

Interim Summary…………………………………………………………………………...8

Experiment 2………………………………………………………………………………...9

Method………………………………………………………………………………………..9

Results………………………………………………………………………………………..10

Interim Summary………………………………………………………………………….12

General Discussion…………………………………………………………………..……15

References…………………………………………………………………………………..19

Figure 1…………………………………………………………………………..………..…23

Figure 2…………………………………………………………………………..………..…24

Figure 3…………………………………………………………………………..………..…25

Figure 4…………………………………………………………………………..………..…27

Figure 5…………………………………………………………………………..…………..28

Supplementary Figure 1...……………………………………………………….....……29

Supplementary Figure 2...………………………………………………………..………30

Supplementary Figure 3...………………………………………………………..………31

Supplementary Figure 4...………………………………………………………..………32

Supplementary Figure 5...………………………………………………………..………33

About this Master's Thesis

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School	Laney Graduate School
Department	Psychology
Subfield / Discipline	Neuroscience and Animal Behavior
Degree	M.A.
Submission	Master's Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Psychology, Cognitive
Keyword	basolateral amygdala memory stability object-in-context
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Joseph Manns, Emory University
Committee Members	Jocelyne Bachevalier, Emory University Stephan Hamann, Emory University

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