title: Protein synthesis is essential not only for consolidation but also for maintenance and post-retrieval reconsolidation of acrobatic motor skill in rats.
abstract: It has been reported that consolidation of motor skill, a type of non-declarative memories, requires protein synthesis, as hippocampus-dependent declarative memory does. However, little is known about the importance of protein synthesis in maintenance and especially post-retrieval reconsolidation of acrobatic motor skill. Here, we show that protein synthesis is essential not only for the consolidation but also for the maintenance and reconsolidation of a rotarod-running skill. Intra-ventricle infusion of the protein synthesis inhibitor anisomycin 0 h but not 2 h post-training caused a severe deficit in the acquisition of the rotarod-running skill. Protein synthesis inhibition (PSI) also caused a deficit in the maintenance of the rotarod-running skill, as well-trained rats demonstrated a deficit in the rotarod-running performance upon treatment with anisomycin. Similarly, PSI impaired the post-retrieval reconsolidation of the rotarod-running skill: well-trained rats treated with anisomycin 0 h but not 0.5, 2 and 4 h after the task performance exhibited amnesia for the running skill later on. Interestingly, rats treated with anisomycin 6 and 12 h post-retrieval exhibited amnesia for the running skill. Thus, protein synthesis is essential not only for the consolidation but also for the maintenance and post-retrieval reconsolidation of rotarod-running acrobatic motor skill.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neurobiology and State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, PR China. pengjy@fudan.edu.cn
authors.forename: Ji-Yun
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.forename: Bao-Ming
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000502:physiology*; D009048:Motor Skills / Q000502:physiology*; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D045442:Rotarod Performance Test