Clonazepam improves memory when administered contingent upon reconsolidation in humans

MARÍA LAURA C RODRIGUEZ; JORGE CAMPOS; RAMON LEIGUARDA; VA MOLINA; PEDREIRA M. E.; MALDONADO HÉCTOR

Huerta Grande Córdoba

Congreso; Primera reunión conjunta de neurociencias (IRCN); 2009

SAN-Taller

Clonazepam improves memory when administered contingent upon reconsolidation in humans ML. Rodriguez1, J. Campos2, R. Leiguarda2, V. Molina3, ME. Pedreira1, H. Maldonado1 1Lab. de Neurobiología de la Memoria-IFIBYNE-CONICET, FCEyN-UBA. 2Inst. de Inv. Neurológicas R. Carrea-FLENI. 3Dep. de Farmacología, FCQ-UNC. mlcrodriguez@fbmc.fcen.uba.ar The reconsolidation hypothesis states that a consolidated memory could again become susceptible to facilitation or impairment for a discrete period of time, after a reminder presentation. When this happens, the memory enters a vulnerability phase (labilization), followed by a process of stabilization (reconsolidation). The reminder is the event that begins with the presentation of the learned cue and triggers the labilization-reconsolidation process of the memory. As it has been previously demonstrated in other species, the reconsolidation process was also recently described in a human declarative memory. Recently, our group showed that specific reminder parametrical conditions, ensure memory undergoing reconsolidation.  Based on these results, we decided to explore the Gabaergic system contribution to the recosolidation process. In order to evaluate this, bezodiazepines were administered after a verbal task memory was labilized. Experiments were carried out in FLENI and the expermiental design consists in a 3 days task in which volunteers learn, on the first day, an association between five cue-syllables and their respective response-syllables. Then, during the second day, the paired associated verbal memory is labilized by exposing the subjects to the reminder and inmediately after that, Clonazepam (0.25mg) or placebo is orally administered. Finally, on the third day, the volunteers are tested for the acquired memory. Preliminary results indicate that when a gabaergic agonist was administered within the reconsolidation window of a declarative memory, memory retrieval was markedly facilitated. This effect, was not observed when the reminder parametrical conditions were changed or when placebo was administrated.