Saccharin aversion memory in rats: Inhibition of cycloheximide-resistant memory by ouabain

Abstract

Memory for saccharin aversion learning in rats was shown to persist for at least one hour when cerebral protein synthesis was inhibited by cycloheximide. By 4 hours after learning the level of retention had fallen to the amnesic levels seen 24 hours later. The amnesia seen at 24 hours was found to be dose dependent and a mass of 300 μg, administered intraventricularly, was adequate to produce maximum amnesia. When the labile memory inhibitor ouabain was administered 15 min before saccharin and LiCl, amnesia was seen in some rats at 1 hr, at the time when cycloheximide-insusceptible memory was still present. These results compare favorably to those seen in day-old-chickens where a sequentially dependent 3 phase model of memory has been formulated.