Early consolidation of instrumental learning requires protein synthesis in the nucleus accumbens.
It is widely held that long-term memories are established by consolidation of newly acquired information into stable neural representations, a process that requires protein synthesis and synaptic plasticity. Plasticity within the nucleus accumbens (NAc), a major component of the ventral striatum, is thought to mediate instrumental learning processes and many aspects of drug addiction. Here we show that the inhibition of protein synthesis within the NAc disrupts consolidation of an appetitive instrumental learning task (lever-pressing for food) in rats. Post-trial infusions of anisomycin immediately after the first several training sessions prevented consolidation, whereas infusions delayed by 2 or 4 hours had no effect. However, if the rats were allowed to learn the task, the behavior was not sensitive to disruption by intra-accumbens anisomycin. Control infusions into the medial NAc shell or the dorsolateral striatum did not impair learning; in fact, an enhancement was observed in the latter case. These results show that de novo protein synthesis within the NAc is necessary for the consolidation, but not reconsolidation, of appetitive instrumental memories.
Hernandez
Pepe J
PJ
Neuroscience Training Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 7226 Medical Sciences Center, 1300 University Avenue, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA. phernand@wisc.edu
Sadeghian
Kenneth
K
Kelley
Ann E
AE
D000818:Animals; D000841:Anisomycin / Q000494:pharmacology; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D007858:Learning / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D017072:Neostriatum / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D009714:Nucleus Accumbens / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D011500:Protein Synthesis Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D011500:Protein Synthesis Inhibitors; D000841:Anisomycin