Facilitating influence of stress on the consolidation of fear memory induced by a weak training: Reversal by midazolam pretreatment

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Año: 2011 vol. 225 p. 77 - 77

It is well known that an emotionally arousing experience usually results in a robust and persistent memorytrace. The present study explored the potential mechanisms involved in the influence of stress onthe consolidation of a contextual fear memory in animals subjected to a weak fear training protocol, andwhether pretreatment with intra-basolateral amygdala or systemic administration of midazolam (MDZ)prevents the potential stress-induced influence on fear memory formation. A previous restraint sessionfacilitated fear retention, this effect was not due to a sensitized effect of restraint on the footshock experience.MDZ, both systemically or intra-basolateral amygdala infusion prior to the restraint, attenuated thestress-induced promoting influence on fear memory formation. In addition, stress exposure activated theERK1/2 pathway in basolateral amygdala (BLA) after the weak training procedure but not after the immediatefootshock pr