Studing the function of the reconsolidation process: Analysis of the reactivation of the Contextual Pavlovian Conditioning memory triggered by the prediction error in the crab Neohelice granulata

MARIA AGUSTINA LÓPEZ; SANTIAGO CORTASA; MARTIN CARBO TANO; MARIA EUGENIA PEDREIRA

Huerta Grande Cordoba

Congreso; XXIX Congreso de la Sociedad Argentina de Investigacion en Neurociencias; 2014

SAN

According to the traditional view on memory, once a memory has been consolidated, the memory remains as a permanent trace. When retrieved, memories may undergo a labile state that is sensitive to modification. This process, called reconsolidation, can lead to memory updating through the integration of new information into a previously consolidated memory background. According to some learning theories associative learning depends on prediction error (PE) ? a discrepancy between expectation based on previous learning and actual events. If reconsolidation were to function as an update mechanism its induction should depend on PE-driven learning during memory reactivation. Reconsolidation may only take place when memory reactivation involves an experience that engages new learning (prediction error). Thus far, it has not been possible to determine the optimal degree of novelty required for destabilizing the memory. Using the Contextual Pavlovian Conditioning paradigm (CPC) of the crab Neohelice granulata we explore the optimal degree of novelty require to trigger reconsolidation. Varying the presence/absence or the time point presentation of the US during memory reactivation we demonstrated that PE was a necessary condition for reconsolidation to occur. We found that time is a core part of the CS-US association, and that ambiguous information must be presented during reactivation in order to trigger reconsolidation.