Exploring the function of the Serotonin 5-HT2a receptors in the mechanism underlying Retrieval Induced Forgetting in rats

ZANONI SAAD MARIA BELEN; GALLO, FRANCISCO T.; NOELIA WEISSTAUB; PEDRO BEKINSCHTEIN

Carlos Paz

Congreso; XXXiV Congreso de la Sociedad Argentina de Neurociencias; 2019

Sociedad Argentina de Neurociencias

Over the past several decades, neurobiological research on memory hasbeen focused on the mechanisms underlying memory storage. Nevertheless, thestudy of forgetting and, specifically, active forgetting has been increasedsince Anderson et al. showed in 1994 that the retrieval of certain memoriescould cause the forgetting of related, but not explicitly evoked information bya mechanism called retrieval-induced forgetting (RIF). The behavioral paradigmused to characterize this phenomenon in humans was then adapted for rats,opening the possibility to perform causal studies. As with humans, in rats, RIFis competition-dependent, cue-independent, and reliant on the prefrontalcortex. This work aims to explore if and how the serotonergic systemparticipates in RIF. Specifically, we used an antagonist of the serotoninreceptor 2A in the medial prefrontal cortex and in the dorsal hippocampus intwo separate experiments. We hypothesize that only the animals exposed to theconditions that promote the retrieval-induced forgetting will be susceptible tothe effect of the drug and will show memory for the competing item. RIF couldbe thought of as a mechanism for optimizing the storage and use of informationthat can guide behavior, Thus, its neural mechanisms are relevant for theunderstanding of adaptive memory in rodents and humans.