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Exposure to a novel context following contextual fear conditioning enhances the induction of hippocampal long‐term potentiation
Author(s) -
Motanis Helen,
Maroun Mouna
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
european journal of neuroscience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.346
H-Index - 206
eISSN - 1460-9568
pISSN - 0953-816X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1460-9568.2010.07334.x
Subject(s) - long term potentiation , fear conditioning , context (archaeology) , conditioning , neuroscience , synaptic plasticity , psychology , fear processing in the brain , hippocampus , extinction (optical mineralogy) , freezing behavior , hippocampal formation , classical conditioning , medicine , biology , amygdala , receptor , paleontology , statistics , mathematics
The prior behavioral experience of an animal can influence the direction and the probability of long‐term plasticity induced at the activated synapses. In the present study, we compared alterations in long‐term potentiation in the rat CA1 of the hippocampus following post‐fear conditioning exposure to the conditioning context vs. a novel context. Furthermore, we examined whether the alterations in long‐term potentiation are dependent on the prior formation of context–shock fear memory association. Whereas retrieval of fear memory 1 h after conditioning in the conditioning context was associated with impairment in the magnitude of long‐term potentiation, exposure to a novel context at the same time point was associated with a robust increase in long‐term potentiation. This effect was time‐dependent, as exposure to a novel context 24 h after conditioning resulted in impaired long‐term potentiation. Furthermore, preventing the formation of a fear context–shock association resulted in different modifications to long‐term potentiation levels, regardless of whether association formation was prevented behaviorally (i.e. using a minimal context–shock association) or pharmacologically (using the N ‐methyl‐ d ‐aspartic acid receptor antagonist MK801). Our findings suggest that exposure to a novel environment following fear conditioning induces a form of metaplasticity that enhances the acquisition of novel information and could prevent acute stress‐associated impairments in long‐term potentiation.