Induction of long-term memory by exposure to novelty requires protein synthesis: evidence for a behavioral tagging.
A behavioral analog of the synaptic tagging and capture process, a key property of synaptic plasticity, has been predicted recently. Here, we demonstrate that weak inhibitory avoidance training, which induces short- but not long-term memory (LTM), can be consolidated into LTM by an exploration to a novel, but not a familiar, environment occurring close in time to the training session. This memory-promoting effect caused by novelty depends on activation of dopamine D1/D5 receptors and requires newly synthesized proteins in the dorsal hippocampus. Thus, our results indicate the existence of a behavioral tagging process in which the exploration to a novel environment provides the plasticity-related proteins to stabilize the inhibitory avoidance memory trace.
Moncada
Diego
D
Instituto de Biología Celular y Neurociencias, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Buenos Aires, 1121 Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Viola
Haydée
H
D000818:Animals; D001362:Avoidance Learning / Q000502:physiology; D005106:Exploratory Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D017447:Receptors, Dopamine D1 / Q000502:physiology; D050641:Receptors, Dopamine D5 / Q000502:physiology; D013997:Time Factors
D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D017447:Receptors, Dopamine D1; D050641:Receptors, Dopamine D5