Mechanisms underlying contextual fear learning

Modulation of synapse-related gene expression in the cerebellum and prefrontal cortex of rats subjected to the contextual fear conditioning paradigm

The contextual fear conditioning (CFC) paradigm is the most productive approach for understanding the neurobiology of learning and memory as it allows to follow the evolution of memory traces of a conditioned stimulus and a specific context. The formation of long-term memory involves alterations in synaptic efficacy and neural transmission. It is known that the prefrontal cortex (PFC) exerts top-down control over subcortical structures to regulate behavioural responses. Moreover, cerebellar structures are involved in storing conditioned responses. The purpose of this research was to determine if the response to conditioning and stressful challenge is associated with alterations in synapse-related genes mRNA levels in the PFC, cerebellar vermis (V), and hemispheres (H) of young adult male rats. Four groups of Wistar rats were examined: naïve, CFC, shock only (SO), and exploration (EXPL). The behavioural response was evaluated by measuring the total freezing duration. Real-Time PCR was employed to quantify mRNA levels of some genes involved in synaptic plasticity. The results obtained from this study showed alterations in gene expression in different synapse-related genes after exposure to stressful stimuli and positioning to new environment. In conclusion, conditioning behavioural stimuli change the expression profile of molecules involved in neural transmission.

Repetitive Pain in Neonatal Male Rats Impairs Hippocampus-Dependent Fear Memory Later in Life

Preterm infants in neonatal intensive care units are inevitably subjected to numerous painful procedures. However, little is known about the consequences of early pain experience on fear memory formation later in life. We hypothesized that exposure to repetitive pain in early life triggered hippocampal synaptic plasticity and resulted in memory deficiency in prepubertal and adult rats. From the day of birth (P0) to postnatal day 7 (P7), neonatal male rat pups were randomly assigned to either needle pricks or tactile touches repetitively every 6 h. Trace fear conditioning was performed on rats on P24-P26 and P87-P89. On P24 and P87, rats were sacrificed for molecular and electrophysiological studies. On P24-26 and P87-89, rats that experienced neonatal needle treatment showed a significant reduction in freezing time in the contextual fear conditioning (P < 0.05) and trace fear conditioning tests (P < 0.05). Moreover, repetitive neonatal procedural pain caused a significant decrease in the magnitude of hippocampal long-term potentiation induced by high-frequency stimulation. Furthermore, rats that experienced neonatal needle treatment demonstrated sustained downregulation of NR1, NR2A, NR2B, and GluR1 expression in the hippocampus. Therefore, neonatal pain is related to deficits in hippocampus-related fear memory later in life and might be caused by impairments in hippocampal synaptic plasticity.

Social isolation impairs the persistence of social recognition memory by disturbing the glutamatergic tonus and the olfactory bulb-dorsal hippocampus coupling

The absence of companion may jeopardize mental health in social animals. Here, we tested the hypothesis that social isolation impairs social recognition memory by altering the excitability and the dialog between the olfactory bulb (OB) and the dorsal hippocampus (dHIP). Adult male Swiss mice were kept grouped (GH) or isolated (SI) for 7 days. Social memory (LTM) was evaluated using social recognition test. SI increased glutamate release in the OB, while decreased in the dHIP. Blocking AMPA and NMDA receptors into the OB or activating AMPA into the dHIP rescued LTM in SI mice, suggesting a cause-effect relationship between glutamate levels and LTM impairment. Additionally, during memory retrieval, phase-amplitude coupling between OB and dHIP decreased in SI mice. Our results indicate that SI impaired the glutamatergic signaling and the normal communication between OB and HIP, compromising the persistence of social memory.

The formation and extinction of fear memory in tree shrews

Fear is an emotion that is well-studied due to its importance for animal survival. Experimental animals, such as rats and mice, have been widely used to model fear. However, higher animals such as nonhuman primates have rarely been used to study fear due to ethical issues and high costs. Tree shrews are small mammals that are closely related to primates; they have been used to model human-related psychosocial conditions such as stress and alcohol tolerance. Here, we describe an experimental paradigm to study the formation and extinction of fear memory in tree shrews. We designed an experimental apparatus of a light/dark box with a voltage foot shock. We found that tree shrews preferred staying in the dark box in the daytime without stimulation and showed avoidance to voltage shocks applied to the footplate in a voltage-dependent manner. Foot shocks applied to the dark box for 5 days (10 min per day) effectively reversed the light–dark preference of the tree shrews, and this memory lasted for more than 50 days without any sign of memory decay (extinction) in the absence of further stimulation. However, this fear memory was reversed with 4 days of reverse training by applying the same stimulus to the light box. When reducing the stimulus intensity during the training period, a memory extinction and subsequently reinstatement effects were observed. Thus, our results describe an efficient method of monitoring fear memory formation and extinction in tree shrews.

Contextual fear conditioning modulates hippocampal AMPA-, GluN1- and serotonin receptor 5-HT1A-containing receptor complexes

Although the roles of AMPAR (α-amino-3-hydroxyl-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionate receptor), NMDAR (N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor) and 5HT1AR (5-hydroxytryptamine sub type 1A) in contextual fear conditioning (cFC) have been studied, information about receptor-containing complexes (RC) is not available. Moreover, there are no data on membrane or endosomal NMDA-, 5HT1A- or AMPA-RC levels, which would likely be indicative of the trafficking of these receptors. cFC was carried out in C57BL/6j mice and animals were sacrificed in the individual phases and hippocampi were taken for the determination of receptor complex and subunit levels using BN- and SDS-PAGE with subsequent Western blotting. GluA1-4, GluN1 (NMDAR subunit NR1)- and 5HT1A-RC were differentially regulated during the individual phases and differentially regulated in the membrane and endosomal fractions. GluA1-RC levels in the membrane were increased in acquisition, consolidation and retrieval phases; GluA2-RC and GluA3-RC membrane levels were reduced and modulated in early endosomes during these phases. GluA4-RC and GluN1-RC levels as well as their subunits showed the same pattern in the membrane during consolidation while 5HT1A-RC membrane and endosome levels were mainly increased during consolidation and retrieval. Taken together, the results suggest that levels of 5-HT1A-RC, NMDA-RC and AMPA-RC and subunits in membrane and endosomal preparations are paralleling individual phases of cFC. The findings from the current study suggest phase-specific receptor complex and subunit formation and propose that receptor complexes should be examined in parallel with receptor subunits to aid the interpretation of previous work and to design future work on neurotransmitter receptors in memory paradigms.