title: Mechanisms governing the reactivation-dependent destabilization of memories and their role in extinction.
abstract: The extinction of learned associations has traditionally been considered to involve new learning, which competes with the original memory for control over behavior. However, a recent resurgence of interest in reactivation-dependent amnesia has revealed that the retrieval of fear-related memory (with what is essentially a brief extinction session) can result in its destabilization. This review discusses some of the cellular and molecular mechanisms that are involved in the destabilization of a memory following its reactivation and/or extinction, and investigates the evidence that extinction may involve both new learning as well as a partial destabilization-induced erasure of the original memory trace.
authors.affiliation: Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
authors.forename: Charlotte R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Flavell
authors.affiliation: Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
authors.forename: Elliot A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Lambert
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Guelph Guelph, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Boyer D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Winters
authors.affiliation: Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
authors.forename: Timothy W
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Bredy
keywords: destabilization; extinction; fear; memory; reactivation; reconsolidation