The retrosplenial cortex is involved in the formation of memory for context and trace fear conditioning. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2015 Sep;123:110-6
Date
06/17/2015Pubmed ID
26079095Pubmed Central ID
PMC4754129DOI
10.1016/j.nlm.2015.06.007Scopus ID
2-s2.0-84934926723 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 73 CitationsAbstract
The retrosplenial cortex (RSC) is known to play a role in the retrieval of context memory, but its involvement in memory formation and consolidation is unclear. To better characterize the role of the RSC, we tested its involvement in the formation and retrieval of memory for trace fear conditioning, a task that requires the association of two cues separated by an empty period of time. We have previously shown that trace fear extinction requires the RSC (Kwapis, Jarome, Lee, Gilmartin, & Helmstetter, 2014) and have hypothesized that trace memory may be stored in a distributed cortical network that includes prelimbic and retrosplenial cortices (Kwapis, Jarome, & Helmstetter, 2015). Whether the RSC participates in acquiring and storing cued trace fear, however, is currently unknown. Here, we demonstrate that blocking protein synthesis in the RSC before, but not after acquisition impairs rats' memory for trace CS and context fear without affecting memory for the CS in standard delay fear conditioning. We also show that NMDA receptor blockade in the RSC transiently impairs memory retrieval for trace, but not delay memory. The RSC therefore appears to critically contribute to formation of trace and context fear memory in addition to its previously recognized role in context memory retrieval.
Author List
Kwapis JL, Jarome TJ, Lee JL, Helmstetter FJAuthor
Fred Helmstetter PhD Professor in the Psychology / Neuroscience department at University of Wisconsin - MilwaukeeMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
2-Amino-5-phosphonovalerateAnimals
Anisomycin
Behavior, Animal
Cerebral Cortex
Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists
Fear
Male
Memory
Mental Recall
Protein Synthesis Inhibitors
Rats
Rats, Long-Evans
Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate
Time Factors
