Contribution of the basolateral amygdala NMDA and muscarinic receptors in rat's memory retrieval

Abstract

The present study was designed to investigate the involvement of the muscarinic cholinergic receptors in the basolateral amygdala (BLA) in memory retrieval. Also, the possible relationship between the BLA muscarinic cholinergic and the NMDA receptor systems was evaluated in the inhibitory avoidance learning. Male Wistar rats were bilaterally cannulated into the BLAs and memory retrieval was measured in a step-through type inhibitory avoidance apparatus. Intra-BLA microinjection of different doses of a non-selective muscarinic receptor antagonist, scopolamine (0.5–1μg/rat, intra-BLA), 5min before the testing phase dose-dependently induced amnesia. Pre-test intra-BLA microinjection of different doses of NMDA (0.005–0.05μg/rat) reversed scopolamine-induced amnesia and improved memory retrieval. In addition, different doses of a selective NMDA receptor antagonist, D-AP5 (0.001–0.005μg/rat, intra-BLA) potentiated the response of an ineffective dose of scopolamine (0.5μg/rat) to inhibit memory retrieval. It should be considered that pre-test intra-BLA microinjection of the same doses of NMDA or D-AP5 by themselves had no effect on memory retrieval. Similar to ANOVA analysis, our cubic interpolation analysis also predicted that the activation or inactivation of the NMDA receptors by different doses of drugs can affect the scopolamine response. On the other hand, pre-test intra-BLA microinjection of D-AP5 inhibited the reversal effect of NMDA on scopolamine-induced amnesia. It can be concluded that the BLA cholinergic system, via muscarinic receptors, has a critical role in memory retrieval. Our results also suggest that a cooperative interaction between the BLA NMDA and muscarinic acetylcholine receptors modulates memory formation of inhibitory avoidance task in rats.