title: Effects of lipopolysaccharide on consolidation of partial learning in the Y-maze.
abstract: Research on consolidation of long-term memory suggests that acute immune system activation induced by endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS) may disrupt consolidation of newly acquired learning. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were trained to perform a simple Y-maze task and were immediately afterwards administered LPS (15 microg/kg) or saline. After a seven-day interval, subjects were returned to the Y-maze and were retrained to criterion. It was found that subjects treated with saline required significantly fewer trials to relearn the task relative to the LPS group and a no-partial-learning control group, which themselves did not differ. These results are most readily explained in terms of a disruptive effect of acute immune system activation on consolidation of newly induced acquired memories.
authors.affiliation: University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia 19104, USA. holdenj@sas.upenn.edu
authors.forename: John Michael
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Holden
authors.forename: J Bruce
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Overmier
authors.forename: Elizabeth Todd
authors.initials: ET
authors.lastname: Cowan
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Matthews
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005502:Food; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000187:drug effects*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012054:Reinforcement, Psychology
chemical_list: D008070:Lipopolysaccharides