Amnesia produced by pre-training infusion of serotonin into the substantia nigra.
Interference with dopaminergic, GABAergic or cholinergic activity of the substantia nigra is sufficient to disrupt cognitive functions. In spite of the known interactions between these neurotransmitters and serotonin, there is a notable scarcity of data germane to the participation of nigral serotonin in learning and memory. It was important, therefore, to investigate the possible involvement of serotonin in cognition. Pre-training injections of serotonin into the nigra of rats produced strong amnesia of an aversively-motivated task (inhibitory avoidance) compared to similar injections into the cerebral cortex and zona incerta. The present findings support the hypothesis that nigral serotonergic activity is involved in memory functions.
Díaz del Guante
Miguel A
MA
Institute of Neurobiology, National University of México, Carretera Querétaro-SLP, Km 15, Querétaro, Qro. 76230, Mexico.
Rivas
Mauricio
M
Prado-Alcalá
Roberto A
RA
Quirarte
Gina L
GL
D000647:Amnesia / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000503:physiopathology; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D001362:Avoidance Learning / Q000187:drug effects; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012153:Retention, Psychology / Q000187:drug effects; D012701:Serotonin / Q000633:toxicity*; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013378:Substantia Nigra / Q000187:drug effects*
D012701:Serotonin