Molecular basis of the activity of the dopamine synapse in the mechanisms of learning and amnesia.

Abstract

The neurochemical correlates of dopamine synapse activity were studied during the retrieval of memory traces and in the absence of retrieval ("psychogenic" amnesia). The physiochemical parameters of D2 receptor function, the synaptic membrane, and the catechol content were assessed in various regions of the brain (striatum, neostriatum, hypothalamus, amygdala, frontal cortex, hippocampus, nucleus accumbens, and nuclei A9 and A10) in intact, trained, and amnesiac rats. It was demonstrated that disturbances in memory trace retrieval were associated with decreased activation of synaptic dopamine receptors and alterations in the dopamine transformation pathway in the rat brain.