Reward´s memory impairment

RUETTI, E. M.; JUSTEL, N. R.; MUSTACA, A. E.; BOCCIA, M.

Huerta Grande. Cordoba

Congreso; XXVI Congreso de la Sociedad Argentina de Investigación en Neurociencias; 2011

Sociedad Argentina de Neurociencias

The behavior of animals depends on their previous experience with rewards of different incentive value. Blockade of ß-adrenergic receptors leads to decline in memory of several tasks. The aim of this study was to analyze the administration´s effect of a ß-adrenergic antagonist on a reward´s downshift and omission memory. It was found that post-training administration of propranolol, results in a faster recovery of the consummatory response when the animals were downshifted from a 32% sucrose solution to a 4% sucrose solution, suggesting the existence of memory impairment. On the other hand, the same drug administered immediately after the omission of the reward did not affect the extinction of the consummatory behavior. These data suggest that propranolol impairs memory of the downshift reward in an opposite way to the corticosterone´s memory enhancing effect of this phenomenon. The results are discussed according to the role played by the noradrenergic system on incentive value´s shifts memory and the asymmetry found in the results of consummatory extinction.