Effects of muscarinic receptor antagonism in the basolateral amygdala on two-way active avoidance
Author
Carballo-Márquez, Anna
Boadas-Vaello, Pere
Villarejo-Rodríguez, Irene
Guillazo-Blanch, Gemma
Martí-Nicolovius, Margarita
Vale-Martínez, Anna
Publication date
2011ISSN
0014-4819
Abstract
The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the blockade of muscarinic receptors (mRs) in the basolateral amygdala (BLA), which receives important cholinergic inputs related to avoidance learning, affects the consolidation of two-way active avoidance (TWAA). In Experiment 1, adult male Wistar rats were bilaterally infused with scopolamine (SCOP, 20 μg/site) or PBS (VEH) in the BLA immediately after a single 30-trial acquisition session. Twenty-four hours later, avoidance retention was tested in an identical session. Results indicated that scopolamine in the BLA did not affect TWAA performance measured by the number of avoidance responses. Experiment 2 was conducted to test whether such a negative outcome might be due to the occurrence of overtraining during acquisition, which may indeed have a protective effect against scopolamine-induced memory deficits. In this experiment, rats were infused with scopolamine in the BLA immediately after a brief 10-trial acquisition session and tested 24 h later in a 30-trial retention session. The SCOP group showed significantly more avoidances and inter-trial crossings in the retention session than the VEH rats. Together, these results reveal that mRs blockade in the BLA does not disrupt TWAA consolidation and may even enhance avoidance performance when infused after a low number of acquisition trials. Performance factors, such as locomotor activity in the shuttle-box, may account, at least in part, for the facilitative effects of muscarinic antagonism in the BLA.
Document Type
Article
Document version
Published version
Language
English
Subject (CDU)
6 - Applied Sciences. Medicine. Technology
Keywords
Acetilcolina
Amígdala
Consolidació
Sobreentrenament
Escopolamina
Acetilcolina
Amígdala
Consolidación
Sobreentrenamiento
Escopolamina
Acetylcholine
Amygdala
Consolidation
Overtraining
Scopolamine
Pages
9
Publisher
Springer Nature
Collection
209
Is part of
Experimental Brain Research
Citation
Carballo-Márquez, Anna; Boadas-Vaello, Pere; Villarejo-Rodríguez, Irene [et al.]. Effects of muscarinic receptor antagonism in the basolateral amygdala on two-way active avoidance. Experimental Brain Research, 2011, 209, p. 455-464. Disponible en: <https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00221-011-2576-4>. Fecha de acceso: 12 feb. 2024. DOI: 10.1007/s00221-011-2576-4
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- Ciències Bàsiques [65]
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