Open field exposure facilitates the expression of a spatial, recognition memory.

Novelty seems to reduce the persistence of aversive memories and to modulate frustration responses, yet much less is known on how this treatment affects memories lacking hedonic or emotional content. The present study analyzed how a 5-min exposure to a novel open field modulated the expression of a spatial recognition memory. Experiment 1 indicated that male Wistar rats trained in a T-maze in which one goal arm is blocked exhibit, when tested 2 h later, preference for the novel arm. This recognition memory was impaired by the muscarinic cholinergic antagonist scopolamine. Postraining, but not pretraining, novelty exposure rescued the cognitive impairment induced by scopolamine (Experiment 2 and 3). Pretraining open field exposure alleviated the lack of memory expression, induced by imposing a 6 h delay between training and testing (Experiment 4). The study shows that a very brief exposure to novelty can improve expression of a spatial, recognition memory, a modulation that - in the case of the pretraining novelty exposure -- emerges even in spite of cholinergic blockade. The present results are consistent with research suggesting that novelty exposure can be an effective, non-pharmacological, treatment to modulate memory expression.

Novelty exposure modulates visual and verbal emotional memory: An experimental design with adults.

The detection and processing of novelty play a critical role in memory formation. The effect of novelty intervention in memory has been demonstrated with rodents in several lines of research; however, it has not been explored as extensively in humans. In this research, we evaluated the effect of novelty exposure on two types of emotional memory: visual (Study 1) and verbal (Study 2). Eighty healthy volunteers participated in both studies. First, all participants watched a video (session 1); seven days later (session 2), participants in the control group watched the same video and those in the experimental condition were exposed to a novel one. Immediately after exposure, all participants looked at 36 pictures (or listened to 36 words). Soon afterward, a two-task test was administered to evaluate memory (immediate free recall and recognition). A week later (session 3), the two-task test was run again (deferred free recall and recognition). Regarding emotional memory processing, the emotional information was more activating and better remembered than the neutral one, for both visual and verbal information. Regarding the novelty effect, the participants exposed to the novel video had better recall than the control on the deferred measures. Thus, our results provide evidence of the effect of novelty exposure on two different types of emotional memory, with great potentialities in clinical and educational settings.

Constructos psicológicos vinculados a la respuesta de frustración en humanos / Psychological constructs related to frustration´s response in humans

El presente artículo enumera una serie de procesos psicológicos vinculados con la respuesta que se ocasiona en los individuos frente a una omisión o supresión de un refuerzo esperado. Se discute la relevancia y complejidad de dicho proceso a la luz de las posibles áreas de estudio que involucra la conducta de frustración en humanos.

The present article mentions a serie of psychological processes related to the response that occurs in individuals against an omission or suppression of an expected reinforcement. The relevance and complexity of this process are discussed in light of the possible areas that are involved in the frustration behavior in humans.

Rock influences spatial memory in adult rats, while classical music do not / El rock afecta la memoria espacial en ratas adultas, mientras que la música clásica no

Music can be used as a therapeutic tool and has several effects in cognitive and physiological functions. The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of different musical pieces in spatial memory in adult male rats. A T maze was used to investigate spatial memory, with 2h and 6h inter trial interval between training and testing phases. Before training, animals were exposed to an active or relaxing musical stimulus corresponding to rock and classical pieces. It was found that in the experiment with 2h interval, animals explore more the novel arm in comparison with the other arm, which indicated that animals still had a good spatial memory. This was not observed in rats that were exposed to the relaxing rock piece, which could indicate that this stimulus diminished memory. With the 6h interval the rats explored both arms equally, except animals that were exposed to the activating rock piece of music which indicated a slightly enhance in memory. Thus, there were found different effects of music corresponding to the time of interval and the stimulus characteristics. This data provides information to use music as a possible treatment to modulate memory (AU)

La música puede ser usada como una herramienta terapéutica y ha demostrado tener múltiples efectos en las funciones cognitivas y fisiológicas. El objetivo de este trabajo fue evaluar el efecto de diferentes piezas musicales en la memoria espacial de ratas adultas macho. Se utilizó un laberinto en forma de T para evaluar la memoria espacial, con 2 y 6 horas de intervalo entre ensayos entre el entrenamiento y fase de testeo. Antes del entrenamiento los animales fueron expuestos a estímulos sonoros activantes o relajantes correspondientes a piezas de rock y música clásica. Se encontró que en el experimento con 2 horas de intervalo los animales exploraron más el brazo novedoso en comparación con el ya conocido, lo cual indica que los sujetos tenían un buen índice de memoria espacial. Esto no se observó en las ratas que fueron expuestas a la pieza de rock relajante, lo que indicaría que este estímulo disminuyó la memoria. Con el intervalo de 6 horas los animales exploraron ambos brazos por igual, excepto los que fueron expuestos a la pieza activante de rock, lo cual indicaría una mejora en la memoria. Con lo cual, se hallaron diferentes efectos de la música en relación al intervalo de tiempo aplicado entre entrenamiento y test, así como al tipo de estímulo empleado. Estos datos proveen información acerca del uso de la música como un posible tratamiento de modulación de la memoria (AU)

Open-field exposure facilitates consummatory extinction.

During extinction, the organism learns that a conditioned stimulus or a conditioned response is no longer associated with an unconditioned stimulus, and as a consequence, a decrement in the response is presented. The exposure to novel situations (e.g. exploration of a novel open field) has been used widely to modulate (i.e. either enhance or deteriorate) learning and memory. The aim of the present study was to test whether open-field exposure could modulate consummatory extinction. The results indicated that open-field exposure accelerated the extinction response (i.e. experimental animals provided novelty exposure had lower consummatory behavior than control animals) when applied before - but not after - the first extinction trial, or when applied before the second extinction trial. The results suggest that environmental treatments such as novelty exposure provide a valuable, nonpharmacological alternative to potentially modulate extinction processes.

Open field exposure facilitates recovery from an aversive emotional event: Involvement of adrenergic and cholinergic transmitter systems.

Successive negative contrast (SNC) is an incentive relativity procedure that has been widely used to model emotional reactivity in rodents. The reward downshift experienced during SNC is thought to result in frustration. The exploration of a novel open field (OF), a complex situation involving stress induction and novelty detection, can enhance or block the acquisition of associative and non-associative memories. Previous experiments found a modulatory effect of OF, applied before downshift trials, on SNC. This schedule, however, can affect retention performance by influencing attentional, motivational, motor or sensory-perceptual mechanisms at training or retention testing. The use of post-training OF exposure avoids these confounds. This work assessed the effect of OF exposure after the acquisition of the downshifted memory, with the goal of targeting the consolidation of this mnemonic trace. We also investigated the involvement of the cholinergic and adrenergic systems in this phenomenon. The results indicated that OF facilitates recovery from reward loss and that both transmitter systems, cholinergic and adrenergic, play a role in this effect of OF.

Cholinergic transmission underlies modulation of frustration by open field exposure.

Frustration can be defined as an emotional state generated by the omission or devaluation in the quantity or quality of an expected appetitive reward. Thus, reactivity to a reward is affected by prior experience with the different reinforcer values of that reward. This phenomenon is known as incentive relativity, and can be studied by different paradigms. Although methodologically simple, the exploration of a novel open field (OF) is a complex situation that involves several behavioral processes, including stress induction and novelty detection. OF exposure can enhance or block the acquisition of associative and non-associative memories. These experiments evaluated the effect of OF exploration on frustration and the role played by the cholinergic system in this phenomenon. OF exploration before first or second trial of incentive downshift modulated the expression of frustration. This effect of OF was blocked by the administration of scopolamine either before or after OF exploration. These results indicate that the cholinergic system is involved in the acquisition and consolidation of OF information.

Novedad y modulación de la memoria: Mecanismos neurobiológicos implicados / Novelty and modulation of memory: Neurobiological mechanisms involved

La exposición a estímulos novedosos es un protocolo simple de emplear que involucra múltiples sistemas y procesos de memoria tales como codificación, consolidación y recuperación de la información. Esto hace plausible de emplearlo como un tratamiento útil para estudiar los mecanismos comportamentales, fisiológicos y moleculares implicados en esta función cognitiva. Se presentan estudios en modelos animales que dan cuenta de cómo la exploración de un ambiente novedoso puede ser útil para mejorar o deteriorar la memoria, en diferentes períodos ontogenéticos. Además, se presentan investigaciones que demuestran la participación de los diversos sistemas de neurotransmisión en este fenómeno así como los mecanismos moleculares implicados en este tipo de tratamiento. De este modo este tipo de tratamiento, no invasivo y sencillo de aplicar, adquiere relevancia para la ciencia aplicada como una posible alternativa para el desarrollo de estrategias de intervención en la temática.

Exposure to novel stimuli is a simple procedure to use that involved several systems and memory processes, such as acquisition, consolidation and recall of the information. Which make it a possible treatment to study the behavioral, physiological and molecular mechanism involved in this cognitive function. Novelty detection plays an important role in adaptation to the environmental changes and in the avoidance of possible dangerous. A novel stimulus elicits a response that will produce habituation when it becomes familiar. When animals are first exposed to a novel environment they explore it actively and in parallel they compare it to previous experiences, stored in its memory to evaluate the degree of novelty. On one side, it includes the response to novelty, activation, and stress-related factors and on the other hand, a response that decreases as the environment becomes familiar, which requires different processes related to learning, recall and recognition. Also, multiple studies showed that animals prefer to explore novel objects, compared with those with whom they had previous experience. Moreover, it has been shown that the ability to respond to novel stimuli is related to self-administration of various drugs, the discovery of spontaneous tumors, and even life expectancy since it was found that neophobic animals die younger than their counterpart's neophilic. In this work we presented studies that indicated how the exploration of a novel environment could be a useful tool to enhanced or deteriorated memory in different ontogenetic stages. The modulation of memory depends on the different characteristic of the treatment presentation. It was reported that the novelty presented prior to an acquisition of some training task can generate an improvement in memory performance. Although, it was founded that the novelty exploration produce an amnesic effect if it was presented after learning, showing the opposite effect. This have been shown in different paradigms such us consummatory successive negative contrast (cSNC) paradigm and inhibition avoidance, in different phases of the training. It was also important to note that this phenomenon involves different time window parameters, for example it is required that the novelty were presented at least one hour before the learning. Furthermore we mentioned data that shows that exposure to novelty during infancy induces a lasting effect of improved cognition and long-term memory that persists even in adulthood. The study of the effect of novelty in the postnatal period and its subsequent influence on other periods opens the possibility of the creative developing of strategies to improve learning and memory processes throughout the subject's life. Besides, we presented research that exhibited the implication of several neurotransmitter systems in this phenomenon and the molecular mechanisms involved in this treatment. Practically all the principal neurotransmitter systems, such as cholinergic, glutamatergic, adrenergic, among others, are involved. A lot of studies indicate that cholinergic neurotransmission plays a critical role in the processes of attention, learning and memory. The same functions correspond to the adrenergic system. The gabaergic system is also involved in the perception of novel stimuli. Glutamate receptors play an important role in the memory processes mainly. In addition, a vast number of studies also reported that the molecular brain activation is very extensive in all the process of explore a novel environment, realizing the complexity of this mechanism. Thus, this type of treatment, non-invasive and easy to apply, becomes relevant for applied science as a possible alternative for the development of many intervention strategies in the topic. Also the study of this phenomenon in post -natal period, allows thinking about possible strategies applicable in the development of this cognitive function.

Novedad y modulación de la memoria: Mecanismos neurobiológicos implicados / Novelty and modulation of memory: Neurobiological mechanisms involved

La exposición a estímulos novedosos es un protocolo simple de emplear que involucra múltiples sistemas y procesos de memoria tales como codificación, consolidación y recuperación de la información. Esto hace plausible de emplearlo como un tratamiento útil para estudiar los mecanismos comportamentales, fisiológicos y moleculares implicados en esta función cognitiva. Se presentan estudios en modelos animales que dan cuenta de cómo la exploración de un ambiente novedoso puede ser útil para mejorar o deteriorar la memoria, en diferentes períodos ontogenéticos. Además, se presentan investigaciones que demuestran la participación de los diversos sistemas de neurotransmisión en este fenómeno así como los mecanismos moleculares implicados en este tipo de tratamiento. De este modo este tipo de tratamiento, no invasivo y sencillo de aplicar, adquiere relevancia para la ciencia aplicada como una posible alternativa para el desarrollo de estrategias de intervención en la temática.(AU)

Exposure to novel stimuli is a simple procedure to use that involved several systems and memory processes, such as acquisition, consolidation and recall of the information. Which make it a possible treatment to study the behavioral, physiological and molecular mechanism involved in this cognitive function. Novelty detection plays an important role in adaptation to the environmental changes and in the avoidance of possible dangerous. A novel stimulus elicits a response that will produce habituation when it becomes familiar. When animals are first exposed to a novel environment they explore it actively and in parallel they compare it to previous experiences, stored in its memory to evaluate the degree of novelty. On one side, it includes the response to novelty, activation, and stress-related factors and on the other hand, a response that decreases as the environment becomes familiar, which requires different processes related to learning, recall and recognition. Also, multiple studies showed that animals prefer to explore novel objects, compared with those with whom they had previous experience. Moreover, it has been shown that the ability to respond to novel stimuli is related to self-administration of various drugs, the discovery of spontaneous tumors, and even life expectancy since it was found that neophobic animals die younger than their counterparts neophilic. In this work we presented studies that indicated how the exploration of a novel environment could be a useful tool to enhanced or deteriorated memory in different ontogenetic stages. The modulation of memory depends on the different characteristic of the treatment presentation. It was reported that the novelty presented prior to an acquisition of some training task can generate an improvement in memory performance. Although, it was founded that the novelty exploration produce an amnesic effect if it was presented after learning, showing the opposite effect. This have been shown in different paradigms such us consummatory successive negative contrast (cSNC) paradigm and inhibition avoidance, in different phases of the training. It was also important to note that this phenomenon involves different time window parameters, for example it is required that the novelty were presented at least one hour before the learning. Furthermore we mentioned data that shows that exposure to novelty during infancy induces a lasting effect of improved cognition and long-term memory that persists even in adulthood. The study of the effect of novelty in the postnatal period and its subsequent influence on other periods opens the possibility of the creative developing of strategies to improve learning and memory processes throughout the subjects life. Besides, we presented research that exhibited the implication of several neurotransmitter systems in this phenomenon and the molecular mechanisms involved in this treatment. Practically all the principal neurotransmitter systems, such as cholinergic, glutamatergic, adrenergic, among others, are involved. A lot of studies indicate that cholinergic neurotransmission plays a critical role in the processes of attention, learning and memory. The same functions correspond to the adrenergic system. The gabaergic system is also involved in the perception of novel stimuli. Glutamate receptors play an important role in the memory processes mainly. In addition, a vast number of studies also reported that the molecular brain activation is very extensive in all the process of explore a novel environment, realizing the complexity of this mechanism. Thus, this type of treatment, non-invasive and easy to apply, becomes relevant for applied science as a possible alternative for the development of many intervention strategies in the topic. Also the study of this phenomenon in post -natal period, allows thinking about possible strategies applicable in the development of this cognitive function.(AU)

Propranolol reverses open field effects on frustration.

Reactivity to a reward is affected by prior experience with different reinforcer values of that reward, a phenomenon known as incentive relativity. Incentive relativity can be studied via the consummatory successive negative contrast (cSNC) paradigm, in which acceptance of 4% sucrose is assessed in animals that had been exposed to 32% sucrose. These downshifted animals usually exhibit significantly less sucrose acceptance than animals that always received the 4% sucrose solution. In previous work, we found that exploration of a novel open field (OF) before the first trial with the downshifted solution attenuated the contrast effect. The goal of the present experiments was to expand the knowledge on the effects of OF exposure on cSNC. We evaluated the effect OF exposure before the second downshift trial and assessed the mediational role of the adrenergic system in the effects of OF during the first and second trial of cSNC. The results indicate that OF applied before the first or second downshift trials exert opposite effects and that the adrenergic system is involved in the acquisition and consolidation of the OF information.

Evaluación y modulación de la memoria emocional: un estudio preliminar / Evaluation and modulation of emotional memory: a preliminary study

El objetivo de este trabajo fue evaluar la memoria de imágenes con diferente contenido emocional, y analizar si la realización de una tarea, con distintos niveles de complejidad, modulaba el recuerdo posterior de los participantes. Para ello 64 estudiantes observaron 24 imágenes emocionales y 24 neutras. Inmediatamente después, realizaban una tarea, que consistía en la resolución de operaciones matemáticas con distinto grado de dificultad. Una semana más tarde se evaluó a los participantes en una prueba de recuerdo libre. Como resultado se observó que las imágenes con contenido emocional se recordaron significativamente más que las neutras. La realización de la tarea no afectó la consolidación de la información acerca de las imágenes. Sin embargo, al igual que en la literatura, se encontró que el contenido emocional de las fotografías actuó como un neuromodulador facilitando la memoria de las imágenes emocionales, en comparación con las neutras.(AU)

Evaluación y modulación de la memoria emocional: un estudio preliminar / Evaluation and modulation of emotional memory: a preliminary study

El objetivo de este trabajo fue evaluar la memoria de imágenes con diferente contenido emocional, y analizar si la realización de una tarea, con distintos niveles de complejidad, modulaba el recuerdo posterior de los participantes. Para ello 64 estudiantes observaron 24 imágenes emocionales y 24 neutras. Inmediatamente después, realizaban una tarea, que consistía en la resolución de operaciones matemáticas con distinto grado de dificultad. Una semana más tarde se evaluó a los participantes en una prueba de recuerdo libre. Como resultado se observó que las imágenes con contenido emocional se recordaron significativamente más que las neutras. La realización de la tarea no afectó la consolidación de la información acerca de las imágenes. Sin embargo, al igual que en la literatura, se encontró que el contenido emocional de las fotografías actuó como un neuromodulador facilitando la memoria de las imágenes emocionales, en comparación con las neutras.

Modulación de la memoria emocional: una revisión de los principales factores que afectan los recuerdos / Modulation of emotional memory: a revision of the main factors which influence memories

Las emociones están íntimamente vinculadas con la memoria. Numerosas investigaciones señalan que los eventos con contenido emocional (positivos o negativos) se recuerdan en mayor medida que los neutros. En este sentido, la memoria emocional es el resultado del almacenamiento de la información que estuvo acompañada por factores alertadores a través de los cuales se fijó con más facilidad. De acuerdo con esto, el objetivo del presente trabajo es realizar una revisión de los principales factores que modulan la consolidación de la memoria emocional en humanos. Específicamente, se va a analizar cómo influyen las emociones y el estado de alerta que se produce en una situación de estrés sobre la memoria. Además se analizan los mecanismos neurobiológicos involucrados en la consolidación de los recuerdos de situaciones emocionalmente significativas.

Emotions are closely linked to memory. Numerous studies indicate that (both positive and negative) emotional events are remembered more than neutral ones. Emotional memory is the result of storing the information that was accompanied by stressful factors through which the information is more easily fixed. Based on this background, the aim of this work is to review the main factors which modulate emotional memory consolidation in humans. Specifically, this paper seeks to analyze the influence of emotions and the alert state that a stressful situation produces on memory, as well as the neurobiological mechanisms involved in memories of emotionally significant situations.