The transition from memory retrieval to extinction

A retenção das memórias é avaliada através da sua expressão. A expressão do traço mnemônico é iniciada freqüentemente pelo estímulo condicionado (CS); porém, como definido por Pavlov, a apresentação apenas do CS induz extinção. A esquiva inibitória de apenas uma sessão (IA) é um paradigma de condicionamento ao medo muito utilizado, no qual o CS é a parte segura da caixa de treinamento (plataforma), o estímulo incondicionado (US) é um choque aplicado nas patas do animal quando o mesmo desce da plataforma e a resposta condicionada é permanecer na área segura. Na IA, a expressão da memória é medida na ausência do US, sendo definida como a latência para descer da área segura. A extinção é instalada no momento da primeira sessão de teste, tal como fica claramente demonstrado pelo fato de que várias drogas, entre elas inibidores de síntese protéica, de PKA e de ERK e antagonistas dos receptores NMDA, impedem a extinção quando administrados no hipocampo ou na amígdala basolateral no momento da primeira sessão de teste, mas não mais tardiamente. Alguns, mas não todos os sistemas moleculares requeridos para a extinção, também são ativados pela expressão das memórias, fortalecendo a hipótese de que mesmo que a expressão seja comportamental e bioquimicamente necessária para a ocorrência da extinção, este último processo constitui um novo aprendizado, secundário a expressão do traço original.

The transition from memory retrieval to extinction.

Memory is measured by measuring retrieval. Retrieval is often triggered by the conditioned stimulus (CS); however, as known since Pavlov, presentation of the CS alone generates extinction. One-trial avoidance (IA) is a much used conditioned fear paradigm in which the CS is the safe part of a training apparatus, the unconditioned stimulus (US) is a footshock and the conditioned response is to stay in the safe area. In IA, retrieval is measured without the US, as latency to step-down from the safe area (i.e., a platform). Extinction is installed at the moment of the first unreinforced test session, as clearly shown by the fact that many drugs, including PKA, ERK and protein synthesis inhibitors as well as NMDA receptor antagonists, hinder extinction when infused into the hippocampus or the basolateral amygdala at the moment of the first test session but not later. Some, but not all the molecular systems required for extinction are also activated by retrieval, further endorsing the hypothesis that although retrieval is behaviorally and biochemically necessary for the generation of extinction, this last process constitutes a new learning secondary to the unreinforced expression of the original trace.

The role of NMDA glutamate receptors, PKA, MAPK, and CAMKII in the hippocampus in extinction of conditioned fear.

Pavlovian conditioning involves the association of initially neutral conditioned stimuli (CS) with unconditioned stimuli (US) that elicit a response. In contextual fear conditioning in rodents, the CS is the context of a training apparatus and the US is a foot shock. Retrieval of memory of the training is tested by presenting the CS alone. But a retrieval test also initiates extinction of the conditioned response. That is, presentation of the CS alone results in new learning, i.e., the CS no longer predicts the US. Here we report that extinction is triggered by two hippocampal signaling pathways underlying retrieval (the cAMP-dependent protein kinase and the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways) and two other mechanisms that become activated at the same time and are not necessary for retrieval (N-methyl-D-aspartate glutamatergic receptors and the calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II signaling pathway). Thus, the molecular mechanisms underlying acquisition and/or consolidation of the memory for extinction are similar to those described for the acquisition and/or consolidation of the original contextual fear.

BDNF-triggered events in the rat hippocampus are required for both short- and long-term memory formation.

Information storage in the brain is a temporally graded process involving different memory types or phases. It has been assumed for over a century that one or more short-term memory (STM) processes are involved in processing new information while long-term memory (LTM) is being formed. Because brain-derived neutrophic factor (BDNF) modulates both short-term synaptic function and activity-dependent synaptic plasticity in the adult hippocampus, we examined the role of BDNF in STM and LTM formation of a hippocampal-dependent one-trial fear-motivated learning task in rats. Using a competitive RT-PCR quantitation method, we found that inhibitory avoidance training is associated with a rapid and transient increase in BDNF mRNA expression in the hippocampus. Bilateral infusions of function-blocking anti-BDNF antibody into the CA, region of the dorsal hippocampus decreased extracellular signal-regulated kinase 2 (ERK2) activation and impaired STM retention scores. Inhibition of ERK1/2 activation by PD098059 produced similar effects. In contrast, intrahippocampal administration of recombinant human BDNF increased ERK1/2 activation and facilitated STM. The infusion of anti-BDNF antibody impaired LTM when given 15 min before or 1 and 4 hr after training, but not at 0 or 6 hr posttraining, indicating that two hippocampal BDNF-sensitive time windows are critical for LTM formation. At the same time points, PD098059 produced no LTM deficits. Thus, our results indicate that endogenous BDNF is required for both STM and LTM formation of an inhibitory avoidance learning. Additionally, they suggest that this requirement involves ERK1/2-dependent and -independent mechanisms.

Molecular mechanisms of memory retrieval.

Memory retrieval is a fundamental component or stage of memory processing. In fact, retrieval is the only possible measure of memory. The ability to recall past events is a major determinant of survival strategies in all species and is of paramount importance in determining our uniqueness as individuals. Most biological studies of memory using brain lesion and/or gene manipulation techniques cannot distinguish between effects on the molecular mechanisms of the encoding or consolidation of memories and those responsible for their retrieval from storage. Here we examine recent findings indicating the major molecular steps involved in memory retrieval in selected brain regions of the mammalian brain. Together the findings strongly suggest that memory formation and retrieval may share some molecular mechanisms in the hippocampus and that retrieval initiates extinction requiring activation of several signaling cascades and protein synthesis.

Memory retrieval and its lasting consequences.

Many, if not all psychiatric diseases are accompanied by memory disturbances, in particular, the dementias, schizophrenia, and, to an extent, mood disorders. Anxiety and stress, on the other hand, cause important alterations of memory, particularly its retrieval. Here we discuss several new findings on the basic mechanisms of consolidation, retrieval and extinction of a prototype form of episodic memory in the rat: conditioned fear. The findings point the way for investigations on the pathology of these aspects of memory in health and disease. Emphasis is placed on the parallel processing of retrieval in several cortical areas, on the links between retrieval and the onset of extinction, on the fact that extinction involves new learning requiring gene expression, and on the differences between the retrieval of recent or remote long-term memories.