Consolidation and reconsolidation of incentive learning in the amygdala - PubMed (original) (raw)

Consolidation and reconsolidation of incentive learning in the amygdala

Szu-Han Wang et al. J Neurosci. 2005.

Abstract

Incentive learning is the process via which animals update changes in the value of rewards. Current evidence suggests that, for food rewards in rats, this learning process involves the amygdala. However, it remains unclear whether this learning undergoes protein synthesis-dependent consolidation and "reconsolidation" processes in the lateral and basal nuclei of amygdala. Accordingly, we examined this hypothesis by local infusion of protein-synthesis inhibitor after devaluation of a food reward induced by a shift from a food-deprived to a food-sated state in an instrumental conditioning paradigm. Our results show that intra-amygdala infusions of anisomycin, whether given after the initial devaluation or after a second devaluation session, abolished the changes in the value of the food reward produced by incentive learning. This study provides direct evidence that instrumental incentive learning depends on protein synthesis within the amygdala for both consolidation and reconsolidation and extends the demonstrations of protein synthesis-dependent reconsolidation to reward-related memories.

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Figures

Figure 1.

Figure 1.

Flow chart of the behavioral procedures used. For details, see Materials and Methods.

Figure 3.

Figure 3.

A, Summary of group designs. B, Test 1. Inhibition of protein synthesis during consolidation (ANI) impairs the differential responding controlled by the outcome value displayed by the VEH group. C, Test 2. Inhibition of protein synthesis during reconsolidation (ANI) impairs differential responding controlled by outcome value displayed by the VEH group. Choice performance is indicated by the responses (mean ± SEM) made on either the devalued (R1) or nondevalued (R2) lever.

Figure 2.

Figure 2.

Location of cannula tips in the LBA for groups V/A (▵) and A/V (•). The first and last letters in the group names refer to the drug treatments (vehicle or anisomycin) received after the first or second devaluation session, respectively. The number under each section denotes its position relative to bregma (in millimeters), according to the atlas of Paxinos and Watson (1998).

Figure 4.

Figure 4.

Anisomycin impairs consolidation (left) and reconsolidation (right) of incentive learning. Choice performance is represented as the mean percentage of total responses (±1 SEM) made on each lever after either vehicle or anisomycin treatment. The data are plotted separately for the two tests and for both group V/A and group A/V. See Results for details.

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