Formation and consolidation of an aversive memory: role of the Medial Prefrontal Cortex

GONZALEZ C; KATCHE C; DORMAN G; GARAGOLI F; MEDINA JH

Huerta Grande - Cordoba - Argentina

Congreso; IIRCN: XXV Reunión Anual de la Sociedad Argentina de Investigación en Neurociencias (SAN) y XII Taller Argentino de Neurociencias (TAN).; 2010

Systems consolidation establishes that memories are initially stored in the hippocampus and later transferred to the cortex for persistent storage. Nevertheless, an alternative view proposes that the neocortex may have a crucial role from initial steps of memory formation. Using c-Fos immunocytochemistry, we studied the activation of cortical areas produced by an inhibitory avoidance (IA) training in rats. We found that after a strong training, which generates a persistent memory, certain cortical regions are selectively activated, including the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Since this activation might indicate sites involved in memory processing, we decided to study the role of mPFC in the formation and storage of aversive memories. Weinfused anisomycin or emetine (protein synthesis inhibitors) in mPFC near the time of training and 12h later.