Imaging of Functional Brain Circuits during Acquisition and Memory Retrieval in an Aversive Feedback Learning Task: Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography of Regional Cerebral Blood Flow in Freely Behaving Rats.

Active avoidance learning is a complex form of aversive feedback learning that in humans and other animals is essential for actively coping with unpleasant, aversive, or dangerous situations. Since the functional circuits involved in two-way avoidance (TWA) learning have not yet been entirely identified, the aim of this study was to obtain an overall picture of the brain circuits that are involved in active avoidance learning. In order to obtain a longitudinal assessment of activation patterns in the brain of freely behaving rats during different stages of learning, we applied single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). We were able to identify distinct prefrontal cortical, sensory, and limbic circuits that were specifically recruited during the acquisition and retrieval phases of the two-way avoidance learning task.

Infant avoidance training alters cellular activation patterns in prefronto-limbic circuits during adult avoidance learning: II. Cellular imaging of neurons expressing the activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associated protein (Arc/Arg3.1).

Positive and negative feedback learning is essential to optimize behavioral performance. We used the two-way active avoidance (TWA) task as an experimental paradigm for negative feedback learning with the aim to test the hypothesis that neuronal ensembles activate the activity-regulated cytoskeletal (Arc/Arg3.1) protein during different phases of avoidance learning and during retrieval. A variety of studies in humans and other animals revealed that the ability of aversive feedback learning emerges postnatally. Our previous findings demonstrated that rats, which as infants are not capable to learn an active avoidance strategy, show improved avoidance learning as adults. Based on these findings, we further tested the hypothesis that specific neuronal ensembles are "tagged" during infant TWA training and then reactivated during adult re-exposure to the same learning task. Using cellular imaging by immunocytochemical detection of Arc/Arg3.1, we observed that, compared to the untrained control group, (1) only in the dentate gyrus the density of Arc/Arg3.1-expressing neurons was elevated during the acquisition phase of TWA learning, and (2) this increase in Arc/Arg3.1-expressing neurons was not specific for the TWA learning task. With respect to the effects of infant TWA training we found that compared to the naïve non-pretrained group (a) the infant pretraining group displayed a higher density of Arc/Arg3.1-expressing neurons in the anterior cingulate cortex during acquisition on training day 1, and (b) the infant pretraining group displayed elevated density of Arc/Arg3.1-expressing neurons in the dentate gyrus during retrieval on test day 5. Correlation analysis for the acquisition phase revealed for the ACd that the animals which showed the highest number of avoidances and the fastest escape latencies displayed the highest density of Arc/Arg3.1-expressing neurons. Taken together, we are the first to use the synaptic plasticity protein Arc/Arg3.1 to label neuronal ensembles which are involved in different phases of active avoidance learning and whose activity patterns are changing in response to previous learning experience during infancy. Our results indicate (1) that, despite the inability to learn an active avoidance response in infancy, lasting memory traces are formed encoding the subtasks that are learned in infancy (e.g., the association of the CS and UCS, escape strategy), which are encoded in the infant brain by neuronal ensembles, which alter their synaptic connectivity via activation of specific synaptic plasticity proteins such as Arc/Arg3.1 and Egr1, and (2) that during adult training these memories can be retrieved by reactivating these neuronal ensembles and their synaptic circuits and thereby accelerate learning.

Infant avoidance training alters cellular activation patterns in prefronto-limbic circuits during adult avoidance learning: I. Cellular imaging of neurons expressing the synaptic plasticity early growth response protein 1 (Egr1).

Both positive feedback learning and negative feedback learning are essential for adapting and optimizing behavioral performance. There is increasing evidence in humans and animals that the ability of negative feedback learning emerges postnatally. Our work in rats, using a two-way active avoidance task (TWA) as an experimental paradigm for negative feedback learning, revealed that medial and lateral prefrontal regions of infant rats undergo dramatic synaptic reorganization during avoidance training, resulting in improved avoidance learning in adulthood. The aim of this study was to identify changes of cellular activation patterns during the course of training and in relation to infant pretraining. We applied a quantitative cellular imaging technique using the immunocytochemical detection of the activity marker early growth response protein 1 (Egr1) as a candidate contributing to learning-induced synaptic plasticity. We found region-specific cellular activity patterns, which indicate that during the acquisition phase, Egr1 expression is specifically elevated in cellular ensembles of the orbitofrontal, dorsal anterior cingulate and hippocampal CA1 region. During memory retrieval Egr1 expression is elevated in cellular ensembles of the dentate gyrus. Moreover, we, for the first time, show here that TWA training during infancy alters adult learning- and memory-related patterns of Egr1 expression in these brain regions. It is tempting to speculate that during infant learning, specific Egr1-expressing cellular ensembles are "tagged" representing long-term memory formation, and that these cell ensembles may be reactivated during adult learning.