Retrograde enhancement of episodic learning by a postlearning stimulus

Abstract

Evidence suggests encoding of recent episodic experiences may be enhanced by a subsequent salient event. We tested this hypothesis by giving rats a 3-min unsupervised experience with four odors and measuring retention after different delays. Animals recognized that a novel element had been introduced to the odor set at 24 but not 48 h. However, when odor sampling was followed within 5 min by salient light flashes or bedding odor, the memory lasted a full 2 d. These results describe a retroactive influence of salience to promote storage of episodic information and introduce a unique model for studying underlying plasticity mechanisms.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Feb 16, 2021
Source ID
10.1101/lm.052191.120

Entities

People

  • Brittney M. Cox
  • Christine M Gall
  • Gary Lynch
  • Julian Quintanilla
  • Stephen V. Mahler

Organizations

  • Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
  • National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences
  • National Science Foundation
  • Office of Naval Research

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Biology
  • Psychology

Readers

  • Brain and Cognitive Science; Experimental Psychology; Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Neural Network Machine Learning.
  • Systems Analysis and Design