Memory enhancement induced in chicks by anesthetic doses of chlorpromazine.

Three experiments describe retroactive memory enhancement in chicks by chlorpromazine (CPZ), a potent membrane stabilizer at anesthetic doses. First, chicks trained on a one-trial peck suppression task under moderate aversant conditions and given 60--144 mg CPZ/kg, intraperitoneally, displayed increased memory retention 24 h later when compared with chicks given saline or 15--36 mg CPZ/kg. The second experiment confirmed the memory enhancement using a different moderate aversant on a different peck target and extended the effect to 48 h. The third experiment demonstrated the CPZ effect to be retrograde because the enhancement observed when CPZ was injected 1 min or 3 min after training did not occur when injection was delayed 4 h. One speculative interpretation of retrograde enhancement with CPZ includes the stabilization of swollen dendritic spines, which may facilitate neuronal pathways.