Parallel memory traces are built after an experience containing aversive and appetitive components in the crab Neohelice

KLAPPENBACH, MARTÍN; NALLY, AYELÉN; LOCATELLI, FERNANDO FEDERICO

PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

NATL ACAD SCIENCES

Año: 2017

0027-8424

The neurobiology of learning and memory has been mainly studied byfocusing on pure aversive or appetitive experiences. Here we challenged thisapproach considering that real-life stimuli come normally associated withcompeting aversive and appetitive consequences and that interaction betweenconflicting information must be intrinsic part of the memory processes. We usedNeohelice crabs, taking advantage oftwo well described appetitive and aversive learning paradigms and combining themin a single training session to evaluate how this affects memory. We found thatcrabs build separate appetitive and aversive memories that compete duringretrieval but not during acquisition. Which memory prevailsdepends on the balance between the strength of the unconditioned stimuli and onthe motivational state of the animals. The results indicate that after a mixexperience with appetitive and aversive consequences, parallel memories areestablished in way that appetitive and aversive information is stored to beretrieved in an opportunistic manner.