Inhibitory Avoidance Task In Rats Research Articles

A critical period for learning and plastic changes at hippocampal CA1 synapses

Postnatal development of hippocampal function has been reported in many mammalian species, including humans. To obtain synaptic evidence, we analyzed developmental changes in plasticity after an inhibitory avoidance task in rats. Learning performance was low in infants (postnatal 2 weeks) but clearly improved from the juvenile period (3–4 weeks) to adulthood (8 weeks). One hour after the training, we prepared brain slices and sequentially recorded miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents (mEPSCs) and inhibitory postsynaptic currents (mIPSCs) from the same hippocampal CA1 neuron. Although the training failed to affect the amplitude of either mEPSCs or mIPSCs at 2 weeks, it increased mEPSC, but not mIPSC, amplitude at 3 weeks. At 4 weeks, the training had increased the amplitude of both mEPSCs and mIPSCs, whereas mIPSC, but not mEPSC, amplitude was increased at 8 weeks. Because early-life physiological functions can affect performance, we also evaluated sensory–motor functions together with emotional state and found adequate sensory/motor functions from infancy to adulthood. Moreover, by analyzing performance of rats in multiple hippocampal-dependent tasks, we found that the developmental changes in the performance are task dependent. Taken together, these findings delineate a critical period for learning and plastic changes at hippocampal CA1 synapses.

Agmatine inhibits nicotine withdrawal induced cognitive deficits in inhibitory avoidance task in rats: Contribution of α2-adrenoceptors

Nicotine abstinence following chronic exposure is associated with impairments in memory and variety of cognitive functions. Daily nicotine (2 mg/kg, sc, four times daily) administration for 14 days and its abrupt withdrawal significantly impaired avoidance learning in inhibitory avoidance task as indicated by a significant decrease in the step through latency. Animals injected with agmatine (10–40 μg/rat, icv) from day 7 to 14 before the first daily dose of nicotine (2 mg/kg, sc) showed increased step through latencies during retrieval test. Similarly Intracerebroventricular injection of l-arginine (25–100 μg/rat), a biosynthetic precursor of agmatine and arcaine (50 μg −100 μg/rat), an agmatinase inhibitor, also increased the step through latency during retrieval test in nicotine withdrawn animals. In separate experiments, α2-adrenoceptor agonist, clonidine (0.5–1 μg/rat, icv) not only demonstrated significant increase in the step through latency as in nicotine withdrawn rats but also potentiated the pharmacological effect of agmatine. In contrast, pre-treatment of α2-adrenoceptor antagonist, yohimbine (0.5 μg/rat, icv) antagonized the memory enhancing effect of agmatine (20 μg/rat, icv) in nicotine withdrawn rats. In addition, brain agmatine analysis carried out at 72 h time point of nicotine withdrawal showed marked decrease in basal brain agmatine content as compared to control. Overall, the data indicate that agmatine attenuates nicotine withdrawal induced memory impairment through modulation of α2adrenergic receptors. Thus, agmatine might have therapeutic implications in the treatment of cognitive deficits following nicotine withdrawal.

Prior Learning of Relevant Nonaversive Information Is a Boundary Condition for Avoidance Memory Reconsolidation in the Rat Hippocampus.

Reactivated memories can be modified during reconsolidation, making this process a potential therapeutic target for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a mental illness characterized by the recurring avoidance of situations that evoke trauma-related fears. However, avoidance memory reconsolidation depends on a set of still loosely defined boundary conditions, limiting the translational value of basic research. In particular, the involvement of the hippocampus in fear-motivated avoidance memory reconsolidation remains controversial. Combining behavioral and electrophysiological analyses in male Wistar rats, we found that previous learning of relevant nonaversive information is essential to elicit the participation of the hippocampus in avoidance memory reconsolidation, which is associated with an increase in theta- and gamma-oscillation power and cross-frequency coupling in dorsal CA1 during reactivation of the avoidance response. Our results indicate that the hippocampus is involved in memory reconsolidation only when reactivation results in contradictory representations regarding the consequences of avoidance and suggest that robust nesting of hippocampal theta-gamma rhythms at the time of retrieval is a specific reconsolidation marker.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is characterized by maladaptive avoidance responses to stimuli or behaviors that represent or bear resemblance to some aspect of a traumatic experience. Disruption of reconsolidation, the process by which reactivated memories become susceptible to modifications, is a promising approach for treating PTSD patients. However, much of what is known about fear-motivated avoidance memory reconsolidation derives from studies based on fear conditioning instead of avoidance-learning paradigms. Using a step-down inhibitory avoidance task in rats, we found that the hippocampus is involved in memory reconsolidation only when the animals acquired the avoidance response in an environment that they had previously learned as safe and showed that increased theta- and gamma-oscillation coupling during reactivation is an electrophysiological signature of this process.

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

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.

Facilitatory effect of the intra-hippocampal pre-test administration of MT3 in the inhibitory avoidance task

The cholinergic system plays a crucial role in learning and memory. Modulatory mechanisms of this system in the acquisition and consolidation processes have been extensively studied, but their participation in the memory retrieval process is still poorly understood. Conventional pharmacological agents are not highly selective for particular muscarinic acetylcholine receptor subtypes. Muscarinic toxins (MTs) that are highly selective for muscarinic receptors were extracted from the venom of the mamba snake, like the toxin MT3, selective for the M4 receptor subtype. These toxins are useful tools in studies of the specific functions of the M4 mediated transmission. The M4 receptor selective antagonist MT3, given into the dorsal hippocampus before the test, have enhanced the memory retrieval of an inhibitory avoidance task in rats. MT3 had no effect in the habituation to a new environment, including basic motor parameters, meaning that the effect in he inhibitory avoidance is purely cognitive. Our results suggest an endogenous negative modulation of the cholinergic muscarinic system upon the retrieval of previously consolidated aversive memories, hereby shown by the facilitatory effect of MT3.

Chronic administration of fluoxetine or venlafaxine induces memory deterioration in an inhibitory avoidance task in rats

AbstractAntidepressants inhibiting the reuptake of both serotonin and norepinephrine may exhibit efficacy superior to that of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Since the clinical effects of antidepressants appear gradually following weeks of treatment, the present study was designed to investigate if there is a benefit to long‐term administration of the SSRI, fluoxetine, in comparison with venlafaxine, a 5‐HT/norepinephrine (5‐HT/NE) reuptake inhibitor (SNRI; both 20 mg/kg ip, once a day for 14 days) in a one‐trial step‐through passive avoidance task in rats. Locomotor activity was evaluated to assess the effects of the drugs on the motility of the animals. The comparison of training latencies versus test latencies showed inhibition of passive avoidance learning in fluoxetine‐ or venlafaxine‐treated rats (e.g., no significant difference between training and test latencies) in a step‐through test. There was no significant difference between fluoxetine‐ and venlafaxine‐induced reduction of latency in rats in this test. Drug Dev. Res. 67:456–461, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

Specific tau phosphorylation sites in hippocampus correlate with impairment of step-down inhibitory avoidance task in rats

Microtubule associated protein tau is abnormally phosphorylated in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and aggregates as paired helical filaments (PHFs) in neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), which are one of the pathological signatures of AD and their presence correlates with severity of dementia. Dysfunction of protein phosphatases in the effected neurons is proposed to be a possible causative factor to AD development. We show here that the pattern of tau phosphorylation correlates with the decline of memory retention ability in rat brain. In our study, we have chosen 55 rats of full age to conduct the discrimination between their normal and low ability of memory retention in one-trial step-down test. It was found that among rats that developed the impairment in memory retention in step-down inhibitory avoidance task, tau protein in their hippocampus was hyperphosohorylated at Thr231/Ser235 (M4) sites of tau, and the significantly increased expression of PP-1 and the decreased one of PP-2B were also determined by Western blot and/or immunohistochemistry. It is implicated that: (1) the hyperphosphorylation of tau at M4 sites may be crucial to affect the memory retention of elder rats; (2) PP-1 might participate in the regulation of phosphorylation at Thr231 and Ser235 epitope of tau in vivo, and the up-regulation of PP-1 content could be in relation to tau hyperphosphorylation at Thr231/Ser235 sites of brain tau and the worse memory retention of rats indirectly; and (3) the decline of PP-2B content could induced the hyperphosphorylation of tau at M4 sides in vivo.

Oral administration of guanosine impairs inhibitory avoidance performance in rats and mice

Extracellular guanine-based purines, mainly the nucleoside guanosine, have recently been shown to exert neuroprotective effects, which seem to be related to antagonism of the glutamatergic system. In this study, we investigated the effects of acute oral administration of guanosine on inhibitory avoidance task in rats and mice. We also studied its effects on locomotor activity, anxiety-related behaviors and mechanisms of action involving the purinergic system. Guanosine (2.0 and 7.5 mg/kg, per os), administered 75 min pretraining, dose-dependently impaired retention of the inhibitory avoidance task in rats and mice, an effect not prevented by the adenosine receptor antagonist caffeine. Guanosine presented no effects on locomotor activity and anxiety-related behaviors. This amnesic effect of guanosine may be compatible with inhibition of glutamatergic system and seems to be not mediated by adenosine.

Zuclopenthixol facilitates memory retrieval in rats: possible involvement of noradrenergic and serotonergic mechanisms

Although disturbed memory function often coexists with psychosis, the cognitive effects of antipsychotic medications with diverse pharmacodynamic properties are rarely investigated. The neurocognitive profile of zuclopenthixol, a thioxanthene dopaminergic antagonist and a conventional neuroleptic agent, has yet to be investigated despite the effect of the drug on a variety of neurotransmitter systems involved in mediation of learning and memory processes. In this study, the effect of zuclopenthixol was tested on memory retrieval 24 h after training using an inhibitory avoidance task in rats. Acute administration of zuclopenthixol (0.7 and 1.4 mg/kg ip) before retrieval testing increased step-through latency during the test session. The same doses of zuclopenthixol did not affect the ambulatory activity of rats in the openfield test and therefore the facilitatory effect of the drug on memory function could not be confounded with any motoric properties. This study also investigated the effect of zuclopenthixol on cortical and hippocampal monoaminergic neurotransmitters' levels together with acetylcholinesterase enzyme (AChE) activity, both of which are known to be important in control of cognitive function. Administration of zuclopenthixol (0.7 and 1.4 mg/kg ip) neither affected dopamine (DA) level nor AChE activity in rat cortex and hippocampus. On the other hand, the lower dose of zuclopenthixol elevated cortical norepinephrine (NE) level, while the higher dose elevated both cortical and hippocampal NE level together with hippocampal serotonin (5-HT) level. These results may suggest the involvement of adrenergic and serotonergic mechanisms in the facilitatory effect of zuclopenthixol on retrieval memory. Zuclopenthixol may therefore be a better alternative than other commonly used antipsychotic medications reported to impair cognitive function of schizophrenic patients.

Role of hippocampal M 1 and M 4 muscarinic receptor subtypes in memory consolidation in the rat

Muscarinic receptors in the hippocampus are relevant to learning and memory, but the role of each subtype is poorly understood. Muscarinic toxins (MTs) from Dendroaspis snakes venom are selective for muscarinic receptor subtypes. MT2, a selective agonist for M 1 receptors, given into the hippocampus immediately after training, improved memory consolidation of an inhibitory avoidance task in rats, whereas the antagonist pirenzepine was amnestic, supporting a facilitatory role of M 1 receptors. Instead, MT3, a selective antagonist at M 4 receptors, caused amnesia. Neither M 1 nor M 4 receptor appeared involved in habituation to a new environment. Thus, our results suggest that memory consolidation of an inhibitory avoidance task in the rat involves the participation of both M 1 and M 4 hippocampal receptors, with a positive modulatory role.

Arginine administration inhibits hippocampal Na +,K +-ATPase activity and impairs retention of an inhibitory avoidance task in rats

In the present study we investigated the effect of acute administration of l-arginine (Arg) on hippocampal Na +,K +-ATPase activity and on retrieval of step-down inhibitory avoidance in adult rats. The action of l-NAME on the effects produced by Arg was also tested. Sixty-day-old rats were treated with a single intraperitoneal injection of saline (group I, control), arginine (0.8 g/kg) (group II), l-NAME (2 mg/kg) (group III) or arginine (0.8 g/kg) plus l-NAME (2 mg/kg) (group IV). Na +,K +-ATPase activity was significantly reduced in arginine-treated rats; this effect was prevented by l-NAME. Retrieval of the avoidance task was also significantly impaired by arginine, whereas the simultaneous injection of l-NAME prevented this effect. Present data strongly indicate that in vivo Arg administration reduces both Na +,K +-ATPase activity and memory modulation in rats probably through NO formation.

Excitotoxic median raphe lesions aggravate working memory storage performance deficits caused by scopolamine infusion into the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus in the inhibitory avoidance task in rats.

The interactions between the median raphe nucleus (MRN) serotonergic system and the septohippocampal muscarinic cholinergic system in the modulation of immediate working memory storage performance were investigated. Rats with sham or ibotenic acid lesions of the MRN were bilaterally implanted with cannulae in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus and tested in a light/dark step-through inhibitory avoidance task in which response latency to enter the dark compartment immediately after the shock served as a measure of immediate working memory storage. MRN lesion per se did not alter response latency. Post-training intrahippocampal scopolamine infusion (2 and 4 microg/side) produced a more marked reduction in response latencies in the lesioned animals compared to the sham-lesioned rats. Results suggest that the immediate working memory storage performance is modulated by synergistic interactions between serotonergic projections of the MRN and the muscarinic cholinergic system of the hippocampus.

Effects of muscarinic toxins MT1 and MT2 from green mamba on different muscarinic cholinoceptors.

MT1 and MT2, polypeptides from green mamba venom, known to bind to muscarinic cholinoceptors, behave like muscarinic agonists in an inhibitory avoidance task in rats. We have further characterised their functional effects using different preparations. MT1 and MT2 behaved like relatively selective muscarinic M1 receptor agonists in rabbit vas deferens, but their effects were not reversed by washing or prevented by muscarinic antagonists, although allosteric modulators altered responses to MT1. Radioligand binding experiments indicated that both toxins irreversibly inhibited [3H]N-methylscopolamine binding to cloned muscarinic M1 and M4 receptors, and reduced binding to M5 subtype with lower affinity, while they reversibly inhibited the binding of [3H]prazosin to rat cerebral cortex and vas deferens, with 20 fold lower affinity. High concentrations of MT1 reversibly blocked responses of vas deferens to noradrenaline. MT1 and MT2 appear to irreversibly activate muscarinic M1 receptors at a site distinct from the classical one, and to have affinity for some alpha-adrenoceptors.

Effects of infusions of the tyrosine kinase inhibitor radicicol into the hippocampus on short- and long-term memory of the inhibitory avoidance task.

The aim of the present work was to test the role of protein tyrosine kinases (PTKs) on both the short-term memory (STM) and long-term memory (LTM) of the inhibitory avoidance task in rats using the inhibitor of tyrosine kinase, radicicol. Rats implanted with cannulae in the CA1 area of the dorsal hippocampus received a 0.5 microl infusion of radicicol (0.5, 1, 5, 10, 20 microg/ml) or vehicle (water) at different times after training and were tested for STM (1.5 or 3 h) and LTM (24 h). Additionally, one group received radicicol 10 min prior to the test for LTM. Radicicol depressed both STM and LTM when infused before and immediately after training and had no effect on either form of memory when infused 30 or 90 min after training. Radicicol also depressed the retrieval of LTM. Our results indicate that memory formation and retrieval in the hippocampus can involve PTK activity, but the present findings should be taken merely as a possible starting point for future investigations.

Ectonucleotidases and synaptic plasticity: Implications in physiological and pathological conditions

AbstractSeveral studies have suggested a role of extracellular ATP in synaptic plasticity. The signaling actions induced by extracellular ATP are directly correlated to the activity of a group of ectonucleotidases, which includes an ecto‐ATPase (EC 3.6.1.3), an ATP diphosphohydrolase (apyrase, EC 3.6.1.5), and a 5′‐nucleotidase (EC 3.1.3.5). These ectoenzymes trigger enzymatic conversion of ATP to adenosine, an important neuromodulator. Our studies have shown that ectonucleotidase activities are modulated in physiological and pathological situations able to induce synaptic plasticity, such as memory, epilepsy, and ischemia. Synaptosomal ectonucleotidase activities from hippocampus and entorhinal cortex were inhibited after the training session in a step‐down inhibitory avoidance task in rats. Considering that adenosine has anticonvulsant effects, ectonucleotidase activities were determined after the induction of epilepsy by several animal models, such as pilocarpine, kainic acid, and kindling models. ATP diphosphohydrolase and 5′‐nucleotidase activities from synaptosomes of hippocampus and cerebral cortex of rats significantly and differently increased after induction of status epilepticus by pilocarpine, kainic acid, or kindling models. Furthermore, significant changes have been observed in ATP diphosphohydrolase and 5′‐nucleotidase after ischemia and reperfusion in hippocampal synaptosomes of rats. The demonstration that ectonucleotidases presented the activities altered after a memory task, or the induction of animal models of epilepsy or ischemia‐reperfusion, suggests that these enzymes can act in the regulation of synaptic activity, controlling ATP and adenosine levels, depending on the synaptic plasticity developed, in physiological or pathological conditions. Drug Dev. Res. 52:57–65, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

(±)-α-Methyl-4-carboxyphenylglycine, a metabotropic glutamate receptor blocker, impairs retention of an inhibitory avoidance task in rats when infused into the basolateral nucleus of the amygdala

The amygdala is important for memory processes of emotionally motivated learning and the amygdala glutamatergic system may play a key role in this process. In this study we assessed the effect of the infusion of (±)-α-methyl-4-carboxyphenylglycine (MCPG), a metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR) antagonist, into the basolateral complex of the amygdala (BLA) on the learning and retention of an emotionally motivated task. Rats received either vehicle or three different doses of MCPG (0.2, or 1.0, or 5.0 μg/0.2μl/side, respectively) bilaterally into the BLA, 5 min before they were trained in a continuous multiple-trial inhibitory avoidance (CMIA) task. Response latencies during the training were recorded. Retention was assessed 8 days later. MCPG in the doses given did not significantly affect the acquisition of the CMIA task. However, MCPG at a dose of 5.0 μg/0.2 μl/side impaired the long-term retention test performance. Additionally, a nociception test indicated that dose of MCPG infused into the BLA did not affect the footshock sensitivity. Our results indicate that MCPG, when infused into the BLA of rats prior to the training, impaired long-term memory of aversive training without affecting acquisition.

Effects of post-training infusions of a mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase inhibitor into the hippocampus or entorhinal cortex on short- and long-term retention of inhibitory avoidance.

We recently demonstrated the time-dependent impairment of long-term retention of a step-down inhibitory avoidance task in rats induced by post-training infusion of the specific MAPKK (mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase) inhibitor PD 098059 into the hippocampus (HIP), amygdala (AMY), entorhinal cortex (EC) and posterior parietal cortex (PPC). Here we investigate the role of the MAPK cascade in the HIP and the EC on both short- and long-term retention of inhibitory avoidance in rats, using three different doses of the MAPKK inhibitor PD 098059. Adult male Wistar rats were trained and tested in inhibitory avoidance and given an infusion of PD 098059 (0.5, 5.0 or 50.0 microM) at 0, 30, 90, 120, 180, 270 or 360 min after training. A retention test session was carried out at 90, 180 or 270 min after training (short-term memory, STM) and/ or 24 h after training (long-term memory, LTM). When infused into the HIP at 0 min, but not at 30, 90, 120 or 180 min after training, PD 098059 impaired STM. Intrahippocampal PD 098059 impaired LTM when infused at 180 min, but not at 0, 30, 90, 120 or 270 min after training. When infused into the EC, PD 098059 enhanced STM when given at 0 min after training and had no effect when given at 30, 90, 120 or 180 min after training. In this structure, PD 098059 impaired LTM when given at 180 or 270 min, but not at 30, 90, 120 or 360 min after training. All effects were dose-dependent. These findings indicate that the MAPK cascade in the HIP and EC is differentially involved in short- and long-term retention of inhibitory avoidance in rats.

The N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor blocker MK-801 prevents the facilitatory effects of naloxone and epinephrine on retention of inhibitory avoidance task in rats.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the interaction between N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors and the adrenergic and opioid systems in the modulation of inhibitory avoidance retention. Rats were trained and tested in the step-down inhibitory avoidance task (0.3 mA footshock). The training-test interval was 24 h. The animals received an i.p. injection of saline or MK-801 (0.0625 mg/kg) 30 min before training, and saline, epinephrine (25 micrograms/kg), or naloxone (0.4 mg/kg) i.p. immediately after training. In the saline-pretreated rats, epinephrine and naloxone enhanced memory retention. Pretraining MK-801 prevented the facilitatory effects of those treatments. The present findings suggest that the facilitation of learning by post-training epinephrine and naloxone is prevented by the pretraining NMDA receptor blockade.

Further evidence for the involvement of a hippocampal cGMP/cGMP-dependent protein kinase cascade in memory consolidation.

Hippocampal cyclic GMP (cGMP) has been recently postulated to participate in an early phase of memory consolidation of an inhibitory avoidance learning in rats. Here we report on the effects of the intrahippocampal infusion of a soluble guanylyl cyclase inhibitor (LY 83583) in the consolidation of one-trial step-down inhibitory avoidance and on the effect of this task on hippocampal cGMP levels and cGMP-dependent protein kinase (PKG) activity. Bilateral intrahippocampal administration of LY 83583 (2.5 micrograms per side) caused full amnesia for inhibitory avoidance when given immediately (0 min) after training, but not 30 min post-training. Rats submitted to the inhibitory avoidance task showed a significant increase in both cGMP levels and in PKG activity in the hippocampus at 0 min after training. No changes were observed 30 min after training. These findings provide further evidence that the hippocampal cGMP/PKG cascade is involved in the early stages of memory formation of an inhibitory avoidance task in rats.

Sequential role of hippocampus and amygdala, entorhinal cortex and parietal cortex in formation and retrieval of memory for inhibitory avoidance in rats.

The hippocampus and amygdala, the entorhinal cortex and the parietal cortex participate, in that sequence, both in the formation and in the expression of memory for a step-down inhibitory avoidance task in rats. Bilateral infusion of AP5 or muscimol caused retrograde amnesia when given 0 min after training into both hippocampus and amygdala, when given or 180 min after training into the entorhinal cortex, or when given 180 min after training into the parietal cortex. Therefore, memory formation requires the sequential and integrated activity of all these areas mediated by glutamate NMDA receptors in each case. Pre-test administration of CNQX 1 day after training into hippocampus and amygdala, 1 or 31 days after training in entorhinal cortex, or 1, 31 or 60 days after training in the parietal cortex temporarily blocked retention test performance. Therefore, 1 day after training, all these brain structures are necessary for retrieval; 1 month later, the hippocampus and amygdala are no longer necessary for retrieval but the entorhinal and parietal cortex still are; and 60 days after training only the parietal cortex is needed. In all cases the mechanisms of retrieval require intact glutamate AMPA receptors.