Retrieval of memory for fear-motivated training initiates extinction requiring protein synthesis in the rat hippocampus.

Evidence that protein synthesis inhibitors induce amnesia in a variety of species and learning paradigms indicates that the consolidation of newly acquired information into stable memories requires the synthesis of new proteins. Because extinction of a response also requires acquisition of new information, extinction, like original learning, would be expected to require protein synthesis. The present experiments examined the involvement of protein synthesis in the hippocampus in the extinction of a learned fear-based response known to involve the hippocampus. Rats were trained in a one-trial inhibitory avoidance task in which they received footshock after stepping from a small platform to a grid floor. They were then given daily retention tests without footshock. The inhibitory response (e.g., remaining on the platform) gradually extinguished with repeated testing over several days. Footshock administered in a different context, instead of a retention test, prevented the extinction. Infusions of the protein synthesis inhibitor anisomycin (80 microg) into the CA1 region of the hippocampus (bilaterally) 10 min before inhibitory avoidance training impaired retention on all subsequent tests. Anisomycin infused into the hippocampus immediately after the 1st retention test blocked extinction of the response. Infusions administered before the 1st retention test induced a temporary (i.e., 1 day) reduction in retention performance and blocked subsequent extinction. These findings are consistent with other evidence that anisomycin blocks both the consolidation of original learning and extinction.