Article
Protective effect of under-reinforcement of passive avoidance against scopolamine-induced amnesia
Fecha
1993Registro en:
10.1016/0361-9230(93)90301-Q
Autor
Quirarte, G.L.
Cruz-Morales, S.E.
Diaz Del Guante, M.A.
Garcia, M.
Prado-Alcala, R.A.
Institución
Resumen
Administration of antimuscarinic drugs induces amnesia of aversively motivated behaviors. However, when relatively high intensities of footshock are used during training (over-reinforcement), animals become protected against such amnesic state. Moreover, the protective effect is established in a none-or-all fashion i.e., within a series of increasing intensities a minute augmentation of footshock intensity is sufficient to reach the protective threshold. In the present experiment it was found that very low intensities of aversive stimulation (under-reinforcement), sufficient to produce learning, also protected animals from scopolamine-induced amnesia. These results suggest that acetylcholine is critically involved in memory consolidation of passive avoidance, but only within a limited range of training intensities. � 1993.