Biomaterial Database

Relationship between memory and fear: developmental and pharmacological studies. 1996

M V Pletnikov, and Z I Storozheva, and V V Sherstnev

P. K. Anokhin Institute of Normal Physiology, Moscow, Russia.

Habituation of the acoustic startle response (ASR) and freezing responses were assessed simultaneously in rats of different ages. Results showed that until 30 days of age rats were not able to express long-term habituation of the ASR, whereas irrespective of age, all rats exhibited the increased freezing responses as a result of fear conditioning. In addition, the interaction between fear and memory was studied using the same behavioral model in adult rats treated intraperitoneally with diazepam at doses 1.2 and 2.5 mg/kg. Diazepam administration did not result in a significant change in initial startle responsiveness but elicited a profound suppression of startle amplitude over trials. Furthermore, animals given diazepam showed more initial freezing than the vehicle-treated controls, while fear-conditioned freezing was decreased by diazepam. The pattern of results is discussed in relation to developmental and pharmacological dissociations between the different behavioral components of responses to aversive and stressful cues.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008297	Male		Males
D008568	Memory	Complex mental function having four distinct phases: (1) memorizing or learning, (2) retention, (3) recall, and (4) recognition. Clinically, it is usually subdivided into immediate, recent, and remote memory.
D009043	Motor Activity	Body movements of a human or an animal as a behavioral phenomenon.	Activities, Motor,Activity, Motor,Motor Activities
D003975	Diazepam	A benzodiazepine with anticonvulsant, anxiolytic, sedative, muscle relaxant, and amnesic properties and a long duration of action. Its actions are mediated by enhancement of GAMMA-AMINOBUTYRIC ACID activity.	7-Chloro-1,3-dihydro-1-methyl-5-phenyl-2H-1,4-benzodiazepin-2-one,Apaurin,Diazemuls,Faustan,Relanium,Seduxen,Sibazon,Stesolid,Valium
D005239	Fear	The affective response to an actual current external danger which subsides with the elimination of the threatening condition.	Threat Cues,Threat Sensitivity,Cue, Threat,Fears,Sensitivity, Threat,Threat Cue,Threat Sensitivities
D005260	Female		Females
D006185	Habituation, Psychophysiologic	The disappearance of responsiveness to a repeated stimulation. It does not include drug habituation.	Habituation (Psychophysiology),Habituation, Psychophysiological,Psychophysiologic Habituation,Psychophysiological Habituation,Habituations (Psychophysiology)
D000161	Acoustic Stimulation	Use of sound to elicit a response in the nervous system.	Auditory Stimulation,Stimulation, Acoustic,Stimulation, Auditory
D000375	Aging	The gradual irreversible changes in structure and function of an organism that occur as a result of the passage of time.	Senescence,Aging, Biological,Biological Aging
D000818	Animals	Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA.	Animal,Metazoa,Animalia