Inhibitors of cerebral protein synthesis: Dissociation of aversive and amnesic effects

Abstract

It has been reported that cycloheximide, a protein synthesis inhibitor, produces conditioned aversion. This finding raised the possibility that the amnesic effect of this drug could be due to its aversive effects rather than to inhibition of cerebral protein synthesis required for the formation of long-term memory. The present study indicates that (1) amnesic doses of cycloheximide and anisomycin, two protein synthesis inhibitors, produced conditioned gustatory aversion; (2) lithium chloride produced as much conditioned aversion as an amnesic dose of anisomycin and more aversion than cycloheximide, but did not affect memory. Therefore the aversive effect of protein synthesis inhibitors, as measured by the conditioned gustatory aversion test, is not sufficient to explain their amnesic effect.