The Effect of social stress on acquisition, consolidation and reconsolidation of a neutral declarative memory in humans

RODRIGO FERNANDEZ; LUZ BAVASSI; C FORCATO; ME PEDREIRA

Rio de Janeiro

Congreso; 9no Congreso Mundial de la International Brain Research Organization (IBRO).; 2015

IBRO

After acquisition, the storage process by which a labile short term memory is transformed into a stable long term memory is called consolidation. The reconsolidation hypothesis posits that the presentation of a specific cue, previously associated with learning, makes the stored memory pass from a stable to an unstable state. In this state, memory is again labile and susceptible to different agents, which may either damage or improve the original memory. Such susceptibility decreases over time and leads to a re-stabilization phase known as reconsolidation process. Aversive emotional events such as stress affect different memory process in several ways. Little is known about the influence of stress in the acquisition and fate of such memory type. To reach such goal we developed a new adaptation of the social stress gold standard, the Trier Social Stress Test , namely Buenos Aires Social Stress Test (BASST). Here we showed in Experiment 1 and 2, that stress prior the acquisition of a neutral declarative, improves acquisition and enhance consolidation. In Experiment 3, a strong memory initially acquired under stress pass through the reconsolidation process and could be interfered by new learning after the presentation of a reminder. Because the age of a memory is proposed as a boundary condition of the reconsolidation, we revealed in Experiment 4 and 5 that seven days after training a proper reminder followed by new learning interfered the reconsolidation of the target memory and that two successive presentation of the reminder strengths memory. As a whole, the results suggest that the fate of a neutral declarative memory acquired after a social threat result in a strong memory, and under this condition the reconsolidation process per se and the strengthening function is active on older memories.