Effects of scopolamine on a modulator treatment in frustration

PSYRDELLIS M; JUSTEL N; PAUTASSI R.M.

Mar del Plata

Congreso; 30ª Reunión Anual de la Sociedad Argentina de Investigaciones en Neurociencias; 2015

Sociedad Argentina de Investigaciones en Neurociencias (SAN)

The consummatory successive negative contrast (cSNC) paradigm is an animal model for the study of frustration in which acceptance of 4% sucrose is assessed in animals that had been exposed to 32% sucrose. These downshifted animals usually exhibit significantly less sucrose acceptance than animals that always received the 4% sucrose solution. On the other hand, exposing Wistar rats to a novel situation, as the exploration of an open field (OF), prior to the first downshift trial (T1) generates memory impairment on frustration. The opposite pattern was observed when the OF was applied prior to the second trial (T2)as it generates an accentuation of frustration. With the aim of investigate the implications of cholinergic system in the phenomenon, scopolamine (a cholinergic antagonist) was administered 20 minutes before or immediately after the OF. The drug blocked the effect of OF in T1 and T2, when it was injected previously and also immediately after. These results provide new information on functional and pharmacological dissociations during the first and second trials of cSNC and also show the role of the cholinergic system in the phenomenon.