title: Strain-specific differences of the effects of stress on memory inLymnaea.
abstract: Stress alters the ability to form, recall and maintain memory according to the Yerkes-Dodson/Hebb (YDH) law. The effects of environmentally relevant stressors, such as low environmental calcium and crowding, on learning and memory have previously been described in a laboratory-reared 'average' strain ofLymnaea stagnalis(i.e. the Dutch strain) as well as two strains of freshly collectedL. stagnaliswith enhanced memory formation abilities (i.e. 'smart' snails). Here, we useL. stagnalisto study the effects of other environmentally relevant stressors on memory formation in two other strains of freshly collected snails, one 'smart' and one 'average'. The stressors we examined are thermal, resource restriction combined with food odour, predator detection and, for the first time, tissue injury (shell damage). We show that the same stressor has significantly different effects on memory formation depending on whether snails are 'smart' or 'average'. Specifically, our data suggest that a stressor or a combination of stressors act to enhance memory in 'average' snails but obstruct memory formation in 'smart' snails. These results are consistent with the YDH law and our hypothesis that 'smart' snails are more easily stressed than 'average' snails.
authors.affiliation: Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Dr NW, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4N1, Canada.
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hughes
authors.affiliation: Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Dr NW, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4N1, Canada.
authors.forename: Tamila
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shymansky
authors.affiliation: Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Dr NW, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4N1, Canada.
authors.forename: Erin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Swinton
authors.affiliation: Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Dr NW, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4N1, Canada.
authors.forename: Kai S
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-9028-1931
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Lukowiak
authors.affiliation: Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Dr NW, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4N1, Canada.
authors.forename: Cayley
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Swinton
authors.affiliation: Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Dr NW, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4N1, Canada.
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sunada
authors.affiliation: Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Dr NW, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4N1, Canada.
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Protheroe
authors.affiliation: Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Dr NW, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4N1, Canada.
authors.forename: Iain
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Phillips
authors.affiliation: Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Dr NW, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4N1, Canada lukowiak@ucalgary.ca.
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lukowiak
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D003216:Conditioning, Operant; D003441:Crowding; D004777:Environment; D005508:Food Deprivation; D008195:Lymnaea / Q000502:physiology*; D008568:Memory; D011235:Predatory Behavior; D013045:Species Specificity; D013312:Stress, Physiological; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D002118:Calcium
keywords: Average; Environmentally relevant stressors; Learning and memory; Lymnaea; Smart; Strain-specific learning abilities