title: Effects of intra-amygdala injections of NMDA receptor antagonists on acquisition and retention of inhibitory avoidance.
abstract: These experiments examined the effects of intra-amygdala injections of NMDA receptor antagonists on the acquisition and retention of inhibitory avoidance. In Expt. I, rats received bilateral intra-amygdala injections of the NMDA antagonists D,L-AP5 (1-10 micrograms), D-AP5 (0.03-1 micrograms), CPP (0.125 or 0.375 microgram), or MK-801 (0.2 or 0.5 microgram) prior to training in a continuous multiple-trial inhibitory avoidance (CMIA) task. Acquisition of the task was not significantly affected by any of the drug injections. In contrast, all three competitive antagonists, D,L-AP5, D-AP5 and CPP, produced dose-dependent impairment of 48 h retention performance. Although the MK-801 injections did not significantly impair retention performance, the retention scores of the 0.5 microgram MK-801 group were bimodally distributed, indicating retention impairment in a subgroup of the animals given that dose. Intra-amygdala injections of 3 or 10 micrograms D,L-AP5 did not affect footshock sensitivity (Expt. II) or locomotor activity (Expt. III) and their retention-impairing effects were not due to induction of state dependency (Expt. IV). The retention-impairing effects of intra-amygdala injections of NMDA antagonists were not due to diffusion of the drugs dorsally: injections of 1 microgram D-AP5 into the striatal area directly above the amygdala impaired acquisition but not retention performance (Expt. V). The retention-impairing effects of 1 microgram D-AP5 or 0.5 microgram MK-801 were attenuated by giving additional training to the animals shortly after receiving intra-amygdala injections (Expt. VI). The implications of these findings for hypotheses concerning amygdala function in learning and memory are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, University of California, Irvine 92717.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: McGaugh
mesh_terms: D000679:Amygdala / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D001362:Avoidance Learning / Q000187:drug effects*; D004597:Electroshock; D005528:Foot; D007267:Injections; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000187:drug effects*; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects; D014677:Pharmaceutical Vehicles; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000187:drug effects; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*
chemical_list: D014677:Pharmaceutical Vehicles; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate