Abstract
The present research was designed to determine whether an incentive downshift event induces an emotional memory that can be modulated by d-cycloserine (DCS), a partial agonist at the glycine site of N-methyl- d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR). DCS has been reported to have memory-enhancing properties in other training situations. Experiments 1 and 2 involved a consummatory successive negative contrast (cSNC) situation in which animals are exposed to an incentive downshift involving sucrose solutions of different concentrations. DCS administration (30 mg/kg, ip) immediately after the first 32-to-4% sucrose downshift trial (Experiment 1) retarded recovery of consummatory behavior, but immediately after the first 32-to-6% sucrose downshift trial (Experiment 2) did not affect recovery. There was no evidence that DCS affected consummatory behavior in the absence of an incentive downshift in a manner analogous to a conditioned taste aversion (Experiment 3). These results suggest that activation of NMDARs via the glycine modulatory site enhances the emotional memory triggered by exposure to an incentive downshift event.
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