Memory updating in crabs: adding opposite information during reconsolidation

KLAPPEBACH MARTIN; KACKZER LAURA; FERNANDO LOCATELLI

Mar del Plata

Congreso; XXXII CONGRESO ANUAL SAN 2017; 2017

Sociedad Argentina de Invsetigaciones en Neurocienccias

Memoryupdating in crabs: adding opposite information during reconsolidation Martín Klappenbach, Laura Kaczer and FernandoLocatelliReconsolidation theory postulates that, oncereactivated, a stable memory becomes labile and goes through a process ofstabilization. It has been postulated that reconsolidation might enablememories to be modified or updated depending on new information acquired duringretrieval, allowing animals to change the content of the memory, permittingthem to adapt their behavior to a changing world.Although memory updating has been studied indiverse species and in several memory paradigms, it is not yet clear whathappen if during reconsolidation animals receive information that contradictsthe prediction generated by a previous experience. A recent work performed inrats, has shown that contextual fear memory is weakened if animals receive apositive stimulus during retrieval in a learned aversive context. In this studywe trained crabs in either aversive or appetitive paradigms, and when memorieswere consolidated, animals were placed again in the training context andreceived a training that has opposite valence to the previous one. Wedemonstrated that, despite the strength of protocol, the original memory is notoccluded by the new one, and also the memory associated with the new stimulusis revealed. Considering previous results that showed that when crabs receivethe two opposite trainings at the same time they build two parallel memories,we wonder if under these conditions animals are forming two memories or on thecontrary, new information is added to the original trace.