Protein Synthesis Is Required for Induction of Amnesia Elicited by Disruption of the Reconsolidation of Long-Term Memory

Studies on common snails previously trained to an associative skill consisting of rejecting a defined foodstuff addressed the effects of NMDA glutamate receptor antagonists (MK-801 and APV) and protein synthesis inhibitors (cycloheximide and anisomycin) on long-term memory reconsolidation processes. Injections of each of the study compounds before the reminding procedure 24 h after training were found to lead to impairment of the reproduction of the acquired skill, which lasted at least three weeks. Repeat training of these animals to reject the same foodstuff as used in the initial training did not lead to acquisition of the skill. However, simultaneous injections of a protein synthesis inhibitor and an NMDA receptor antagonist (MK-801 + cycloheximide or APV + anisomycin) did not impair the skill. In subsequent experiments, snails received cycloheximide at different times after exposure to MK-801/reminding. Administration of cycloheximide 3 and 6 h after MK-801/reminding led to the development of incomplete amnesia and repeat training of the animals led to rapid restoration of memory. Administration of cycloheximide 9 h after MK-801/reminding evoked the development of stable amnesia characterized by impairment of skill formation on repeat training. We propose that the mechanisms of amnesia induced by the NMDA glutamate receptor antagonist, by analogy with the mechanisms of other long-term adaptive rearrangements of the brain, depend on translation and can be suppressed by inhibitors of translation. The “time window” for the dependence of amnesia induction processes on the synthesis of protein molecules was 6–9 h after exposure to MK-801/reminding.     

Serotonin and NMDA glutamate receptor antagonists selectively impair the reactivation of associative memory in the common snail

Experiments on the common snail were performed to study the influences of serotonin and glutamate receptor antagonists on the processes of reactivation of an associative habit consisting of refusing a particular type of food. Twenty-four hours after training, animals were injected with the non-selective serotonin receptor antagonist methiothepin (0.1 mg/snail) or the NMDA glutamate receptor antagonist MK-801 (0.005 mg/snail), after which they were presented with a "reminder" stimulus (the "conditioned reflex" foodstuff, a banana) and tested for retention of the habit. Three hours after antagonist injections and the "reminding" procedure, snails showed impairments in the reproduction of the acquired habit, which persisted for more than two weeks. Furthermore, animals with amnesia after treatment with methiothepin/reminding showed facilitation of repeated acquisition of the aversive habit to banana. Repeat training of animals which had shown amnesia after MK-801/reminding did not result in acquisition of the habit. It is suggested that serotonin receptors are involved in the mechanisms underlying extraction of the memory trace of the aversive habit to the foodstuff in snails, while NMDA glutamate receptors are involved in memory trace storage processes.     

Rolipram attenuates MK-801-induced deficits in latent inhibition

Latent inhibition is used to examine attention and study cognitive deficits associated with schizophrenia. Research using MK-801, an N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) open channel blocker, implicates glutamate receptors in acquisition of latent inhibition of cued fear conditioning. Evidence suggests an important relationship between NMDA-induced increases in cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and learning and memory. The authors examine whether amplification of the cAMP signaling pathway by rolipram, a selective Type 4 cAMP phosphodiesterase inhibitor, reverses MK-801-induced impairments in latent inhibition. One day before training, mice were injected with MK-801, rolipram, MK-801 and rolipram, or vehicle and received 20 preexposures or no preexposures to an auditory conditioned stimulus (CS). Training consisted of 2 CS-footshock unconditioned stimulus pairings. Rolipram attenuated the disruptive effect of MK-801 on latent inhibition, which suggests a role for the cAMP signaling pathway in the task and implicates phosphodiesterase inhibition as a target for treating cognitive impairments associated with schizophrenia.     

Recovery of Memory by the Glutamate NMDA Receptor Agonist D-Cycloserine Depends on the Stage of Development of Amnesia

We have previously observed that in common snails trained to an associative skill consisting of refusing a defined foodstuff, impairment of memory reconsolidation by the NMDA receptor antagonist MK-801 evokes amnesia in which the skill can be recovered by retraining at the early stage (<10 days) while retraining at the late stage does not lead to formation of the skill. In the experiments reported here, amnesia was induced with MK-801 and a reminder 24 h after training of snails to conditioned taste aversion, and the antiamnestic effects of D-cycloserine, a partial agonist of the glycine site of the NMDA receptor, were studied in the early (day 3) and late (day 12) stages. Three days after induction of amnesia, injections of D-cycloserine and a reminder of the conditioned food stimulus led to recovery of the memory; administration of D-cycloserine without a subsequent reminder was ineffective. Injection of D-cycloserine and a reminder 12 days after induction of amnesia had no effect on its development and retraining did not lead to recovery of the memory. Thus, this study is the first to show that the NMDA receptor agonist D-cycloserine influences memory recovery processes only at the early stage of development of amnesia induced by lesioning of reconsolidation processes, while the late stage of amnesia was not sensitive to this agonist.     

Analysis of sensitivity to MK-801 treatment in a novel active allothetic place avoidance task and in the working memory version of the Morris water maze reveals differences between Long-Evans and Wistar rats

The aims of the present study were to compare the effect of subchronic administration of MK-801 on performance in the active allothetic place avoidance (AAPA) task and in the working version of Morris water maze (MWM) in Long-Evans and Wistar rats. Animals were trained for four daily sessions either in the AAPA or in the working memory version of the MWM. Wistar rats treated by MK-801 (0.1 mg/kg) showed a cognitive deficit in the AAPA task without a significant hyperlocomotion, whereas they were not impaired in the working memory version of the MWM compared to controls. Long-Evans rats treated by MK-801 (0.1 mg/kg) were not impaired either in the AAPA task or in the MWM task. Higher doses of MK-801 (0.2 and 0.3 mg/kg) produced hyperlocomotion in both strains which corresponded to an inability to solve both spatial tasks. Long-Evans rats were superior in the MWM to the Wistar rats in the groups treated with the low dose of MK-801. In conclusion, intact Wistar rats can efficiently solve both spatial tasks; however, they are more sensitive to MK-801-induced behavioural deficit. This has relevance for modeling of the schizophrenia-related deficits and for screening substances for their therapeutic potential.     

N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors play important roles in acquisition and expression of the eyeblink conditioned response in glutamate receptor subunit delta2 mutant mice

Classical eyeblink conditioning has been known to depend critically on the cerebellum. Apparently consistent with this, glutamate receptor subunit delta2 null mutant mice, which have serious morphological and functional deficiencies in the cerebellar cortex, are severely impaired in delay paradigm. However, these mutant mice successfully learn in trace paradigm, even in '0-trace paradigm,' in which the unconditioned stimulus starts just after the conditioned stimulus terminates. Our previous studies revealed that the hippocampus and the muscarinic acetylcholine receptors play crucial roles in 0-trace paradigm in glutamate receptor subunit delta2 null mutant mice unlike in wild-type mice, suggesting a large contribution of the forebrain to 0-trace conditioning in this type of mutant mice. In the present study, we investigated the role of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors in 0-trace eyeblink conditioning in glutamate receptor subunit delta2 null mutant mice. Mice were injected intraperitoneally with the noncompetitive N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor antagonist (+)MK-801 (0.1mg/kg) or saline, and conditioned with 350-ms tone conditioned stimulus followed by 100-ms periorbital shock unconditioned stimulus. Glutamate receptor subunit delta2 null mutant mice that received (+)MK-801 injection exhibited a severe impairment in acquisition of the conditioned response, compared with the saline-injected glutamate receptor subunit delta2 null mutant mice. In contrast, wild-type mice were not impaired in acquisition of 0-trace conditioned response by (+)MK-801 injection. After the injection solution was changed from (+)MK-801 to saline, glutamate receptor subunit delta2 null mutant mice showed a rapid and partial recovery of performance of the conditioned response. On the other hand, when the injection solution was changed from saline to (+)MK-801, glutamate receptor subunit delta2 null mutant mice showed a marked impairment in expression of the pre-acquired conditioned response, whereas impairment of the expression was small in wild-type mice. Injection of (+)MK-801 had no significant effects on spontaneous eyeblink frequency or startle eyeblink frequency to the tone conditioned stimulus in either glutamate receptor subunit delta2 null mutant mice or wild-type mice. These results suggest that N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors play critical roles both in acquisition and expression of the conditioned response in 0-trace eyeblink conditioning in glutamate receptor subunit delta2 null mutant mice.     

Hydroxylamine as an amnestic agent

Intracranial injection of 0.5 M hydroxylamine causes long lasting amnesia even when injected three weeks after training of passive avoidance task, alimentary conditioning or discrimination in water maze. Other functions of the brain and new learning are not affected. There is no spontaneous return of the erased memory. The longer is the interval between the learning and intracranial injection, the later the ammesia takes place. It is probably effective throughout the whole time of the existence of the memory trace, and it fails to cause amnesia only shortly before the natural extinction of the memory trace. The effect of the drug is probably not caused by the general illness of the animals, exhaustion or methemoglobinemia. Retraining of the same task as well as training of another task is possible. Our working hypothesis is that hydroxylamine affects memory through the effect on DNA.     

Interactive effect of MK-801 and pre-training on spatial learning in rats

In experiment 1, the effect of an NMDA receptor antagonist, MK-801, on the formation of the spatial representation was investigated. The administration of 0.1 mg/kg of MK-801 induced learning deficits in rats (n = 10) with the Morris watermaze task. However, when rats (n = 10) were pre-trained in the same task without drug treatment, and then trained in the same task in a different environment under the influence of the same amount of the drug, their performance was not impaired. The result suggests that rats treated with MK-801 can acquire a spatial representation of their environment, and that the impairment shown by the drug-treated rats without pre-training may be due to the impairment in the learning of the problem-solving strategy required for the watermaze place task. Experiment 2 examined this possibility. Rats (n = 10) were pre-trained with a visual cue discrimination task without drug treatment and then trained in the place task with MK-801 (0.1 mg/kg) treatment. They did not show impairment in the place task, indicating that rats treated with MK-801 can learn a new problem-solving strategy. Thus the learning deficits of MK-801-treated rats that have not been pre-trained do not seem to be due to impaired acquisition of the spatial representation or of the learning of strategy required to solve the watermaze place task.     

NMDA antagonist MK-801 does not interfere with the use of spatial representation in a familiar environment

There is disagreement among researchers concerning whether glutamatergic N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors play a role in constructing spatial representations. Therefore, the authors reexamined the effects of the NMDA antagonist on a spatial discrimination task using rats in a water pool. The authors confirmed that MK-801 impaired acquisition of the spatial discrimination task (Experiment 1). When rats were pretrained before drug treatment, MK-801 induced learning deficits in the novel environment but not in the familiar environment (Experiment 2). Moreover, in a familiar environment, MK-801 did not impair spatial learning, even when the task was completely novel for the rats (Experiment 3). These results suggest that NMDA receptors play an important role in the construction of spatial representations but not in the use of them.     

Kainate-induced functional deficits are not blocked by MK-801

Male, Fischer-344 rats were pretreated with MK-801 (0.1, 1.0 or 10.0 mg/kg, i.p.) prior to bilateral injection of kainate (0.33 micrograms/site) into the dorsal and ventral hippocampus. Kainate impaired the acquisition of a water maze acquisition task 4 weeks after surgery, an effect not attenuated by pretreatment with MK-801. However, higher doses (1.0 and 10.0 mg/kg) of MK-801 reduced the amount of kainate-induced granule cell and to some extent CA1 pyramidal cell damage in the hippocampus. Kainate-induced CA3/CA4 damage was not affected by MK-801 pretreatment. MK-801 (10 mg/kg) also reduced the amount of thalamic damage produced by kainate. These data support the conclusion that intrahippocampal kainate-induced destruction of CA3/CA4 pyramidal cells is mediated by non-N-methyl-D-aspartate (non-NMDA) receptors and that kainate-induced loss of these cells is associated with the neurobehavioral effects of intrahippocampally administered kainate.     

MK-801 prevents brain lesions and delayed-nonmatching-to-sample deficits produced by pyrithiamine-induced encephalopathy in rats.

Rats were trained on a spatial delayed-nonmatching-to-sample (DNMTS) task and assigned by block randomization to one of four treatments: pyrithiamine-induced thiamine deficiency (PTD), PTD with administration of MK-801 after 12 days, control with MK-801 treatment, and control without MK-801. After 15 days of treatment followed by 21 days of recovery, the PTD rats showed significant deficits for DNMTS accuracy at retention intervals (RI) that ranged from 3.0 s to 15.0 s, the RIs that produced 75% accuracy on DNMTS in staircase training, and the rate at which a novel radial arm maze task was learned. The PTD-treated rats had consistent lesions in the thalamus and the mammillary bodies. MK-801 protected rats from both behavioral deficits and brain lesions (assessed quantitatively and qualitatively) that were produced by the PTD treatment.     

帕潘立酮对社会交往缺陷的改善作用及对脑皮层GSK3β磷酸化的影响

目的　探讨新型非典型抗精神病药物帕潘立酮（Paliperidone）对精神分裂症（Schizophrenia）社会交往缺陷的改善作用及对脑皮层GSK3β磷酸化的影响。 方法　应用地佐环平（dizocilpine,MK-801）连续腹腔注射,建立了精神分裂症模型小鼠。实验分为3组：对照组（腹腔注射同体积0.9%生理盐水）、MK-801组（模型组,给予0.5 mg·kg-1·d-1 MK-801腹腔注射,连续注射7 d）、MK-801+Paliperidone组（帕潘立酮治疗组,给予0.25 mg·kg-1·d-1 帕潘立酮+0.5 mg·kg-1·d-1 MK-801腹腔注射,连续注射7 d）。应用刻板性旋转实验评价精神分裂症模型的建立,并应用Miceprofile软件分析各组小鼠在自由活动状态下的社会交往行为变化。Western blotting(WB)检测鼠额叶皮层脑组织糖原合成激酶3β（glycogen synthase kinase 3β, GSK3β）的表达变化。 结果　MK-801处理后明显增加实验小鼠的刻板性旋转动作,成功建立了精神分裂症小鼠模型。Miceprofile视频分析结果显示,模型鼠的交往接触次数和时长明显低于对照组（P<0.01）,帕潘立酮处理后,明显改善交往接触次数和时长（P<0.01）。WB分析结果显示MK-801明显降低脑皮层GSK3β的磷酸化水平,而帕潘立酮处理后可升高GSK3β磷酸化水平。 结论　本项研究表明新型抗精神病药物帕潘立酮可改善动物社会交往缺陷行为,可能与增加脑皮层的磷酸化GSK3β有关。     

NMDA receptors are involved in Ginkgo extract-induced facilitation on memory retention of passive avoidance learning in rats

Herbal therapies are commonly used to enhance memory and learning. Ginkgo biloba has shown to be one of the most popular herbs that is used to treat amnesia and retard age related memory deficits. Although, there have been several reports on the memory enhancing effects of Ginkgo, involvement of glutamatergic system that plays pivotal role in learning and memory has not been precisely assessed so far. The current study intended to investigate the effect of Ginkgo intake on amnesia while NMDA (N-methyl D-aspartic acid) receptors blocked by the administration of MK-801. The study used passive avoidance (PA) task to investigate the effect of chronic administration of Ginkgo extract (40 and 90 mg/kg; oral) on the memory span in male Wistar rats, suffering from MK-801-induced forgetfulness (0.06 and 0.1 mg/kg; i.p.). The results indicate that Ginkgo was able to remove MK-801-induced forgetfulness, indicating that Ginkgo can affect memory retention but not effect on passive avoidance acquisition, using pathways other than glutamatergic system as well. The results might indicate that Ginkgo extract can be effective in removing forgetfulness caused by inhibiting NMDA receptors from performing their activities.     

Modeling the effects of the NMDA receptor antagonist MK-801 on timing in rats

The NMDA receptor antagonist MK-801 produces different effects on timing tasks. In particular, MK-801 produces an underestimation of duration when animals are tested with the differential reinforcement of low rate of responding (DRL) schedule and an overestimation of duration when animals are tested with the peak-interval (PI) procedure. The goal of this study was to develop a model-based explanation for this discrepancy. Two computer simulations were conducted via an implementation of scalar expectancy theory (SET). In Simulation 1, SET was used to provide a quantitative account of PI timing data. Simulation 2 used parameter estimates from Simulation 1 to predict effects of MK-801 on the DRL task. DRL predictions provided a close match to previous empirical data. Results of the simulations suggest that differences in the literature are likely due to inherent differences between PI and DRL tasks, rather than fundamental differences in timing. Overall, the role of NMDA receptors in timing appears to be multifaceted, impacting perception, memory, and decision processes.     

N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist MK-801 impairs learning but not memory fixation or expression of classical fear conditioning in goldfish (Carassius auratus).

The amnestic effects of the noncompetitive antagonist MK-801 on visually mediated, classic fear conditioning in goldfish (Carassius auratus) was examined in 5 experiments. MK-801 was administered 30 min before the training session on Day 1 to look for anterograde amnestic effects, immediately after training to look for retrograde amnestic effects, and before the training or test session, or both, to look for state-dependence effects. The results showed that MK-801 produced anterograde amnesia at doses that did not produce retrograde amnesia or state dependency and did not impair the expression of conditioned or unconditioned branchial suppression responses (BSRs) to the conditioned stimulus. The results indicate that MK-801 disrupts the mechanism of learning of the conditioned stimulus-unconditioned stimulus relation. Evidence is also presented that the learning processes that are disrupted by MK-801 occur during the initial stage of BSR conditioning.     

Rescue of motoneurones by MK-801 innervating partially denervated rat muscles

Partial denervation of the extensor digitorum longus muscle by cutting the L4 spinal nerve in 3-day-old rats causes some of the remaining uninjured motoneurones to die. A previous study has shown that of the 12 motor units usually present in the remaining uninjured L5 spinal nerve, a significantly smaller number of motor units to extensor digitorum longus muscle is found in animals operated on at 3 days. This reduction can be caused by a greater sensitivity of neonatal motoneurones with axons in a partially denervated muscle, to excitotoxic effects of glutamate. Therefore an N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) receptor antagonist, MK-801, was injected daily for 12 days after partial denervation at 3 days. Two months after the operation contractile properties, motor unit numbers and sizes were studied. Following MK-801 treatment, the reduction in muscle weight and force output of the partially denervated muscle was less than that in the untreated group. Moreover there were more motor units in MK-801 treated animals. After partial denervation only, 15% of the total number of motor units was present whereas when the same operation was followed by treatment with MK-801, 29% remained. The mean motor unit size in the untreated group was 69% while after treatment with MK-801 it was 152% of the control. Thus treatment with MK-801 after partial denervation of neonatal animals rescued some of the motoneurones destined to die, and allowed expansion of motor unit territory of most of the surviving motoneurones. Electronic Publication     

Partial protective effect of MK-801 on MPTP-induced reduction of striatal dopamine in mice.

The protective effect of MK-801, an N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist on 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-induced reduction of striatal dopamine (DA) was examined in C57 BL/6 mice. Striatal DA levels were significantly higher in animals receiving parenteral MK-801 before and for 48 h following MPTP administration after 28 days than in animals receiving MPTP alone. The effect was not due to inhibition of monoamine oxidase-B (MAO-B) by MK-801. These data suggest that NMDA receptors may be involved in some of the neurotoxicity produced by MPTP.     

MK-801对新生大鼠脑外伤后神经元凋亡的影响

目的：探讨N-甲基-D-天冬氨酸(NMDA)受体拮抗剂MK-801对新生大鼠创伤性脑外伤(traumatic brain injury,TBI)后神经元凋亡的影响。方法：建立新生7 d大鼠顶叶皮质挫伤模型,在TBI前30 min、TBI后即刻、TBI后30 min分别给予腹腔注射MK-8011 mg/kg,在TBI后24 h取脑,连续切片,行H-E染色和Caspase-3免疫组化染色,检测脑神经元细胞的损伤和凋亡。结果：MK-801三组不同时间用药组与TBI组相比,在创伤同侧的扣带皮质、顶叶皮质和丘脑神经元凋亡细胞数减少,有显著性差异。其中TBI后即刻用MK-801治疗效果最好。结论：MK-80l能明显减少TBI后神经元的凋亡。     

Spinal substance P and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors are coactivated in the induction of central sensitization of the nociceptive flexor reflex.

We have studied the effects and interactions of the neurokinin-1 receptor antagonist CP-96,345 and the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor/channel blocker MK-801, both applied intravenously, on the flexor reflex and on the facilitation of the flexor reflex by conditioning stimulation of cutaneous C-afferents in decerebrate, spinalized, unanesthetized rats. The flexor reflex was evoked by subcutaneous electrical stimuli applied to the sural nerve innervation area 1/min at an intensity that activated C-fibers and was recorded as electromyogram from the ipsilateral hamstring muscles. The magnitude of the baseline flexor reflex was usually highly stable in the course of the experiments without experimental manipulations. The same stimulus was used as a conditioning train (0.9 Hz, 20 shocks) and caused a brief facilitation of the flexor reflex, which was maximal 0.5 and 1 min after stimulation (255.1 +/- 23.6% over baseline). During the course of the conditioning stimulus train, the reflex magnitude was gradually increased (wind-up). MK-801 (0.1 and 0.5 mg/kg) consistently depressed the polysynaptic flexor reflex. At a dose of 0.5 mg/kg, but not 0.1 mg/kg, MK-801 reduced the wind-up and blocked the facilitation of the flexor reflex induced by the conditioning stimulus by 90%. The facilitatory effect of 7 pmol intrathecal substance P was also partially reduced by MK-801. CP 96,345 (1 and 3 mg/kg) did not depress the flexor reflex, but dose-dependently antagonized reflex facilitation by the conditioning stimulus train, similarly to its antagonism of intrathecally applied 7 pmol substance P-induced facilitation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

The nicotinic agonist RJR-2403 compensates the impairment of eyeblink conditioning produced by the noncompetitive NMDA-receptor antagonist MK-801

The classical conditioning of eyelid responses using trace paradigms is a hippocampal-related model of associative learning, involving the activation of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors. We have evaluated here the effects of NMDA-receptor blockage with the selective noncompetitive antagonist (5R,10S)-(+)-5-methyl-10,11-dihydro-5H-dibenzo[a,d]cyclohepten-5,10-imine hydrogen maleate (dizocilpine, MK-801). Mice were implanted with stimulating electrodes on the supraorbitary nerve and with recording electrodes in the ipsilateral orbicularis oculi muscle. Animals were conditioned with a trace shock-SHOCK paradigm. MK-801-injected animals (0.02 mg/kg) seemed unable to acquire this type of associative learning task, but the latency and amplitude of their unconditioned eyelid responses was not affected by drug administration. The administration of the nicotinic agonist (E)-N-methyl-4-(3-pyridinyl)-3-buten-1-amine (RJR-2403; 2 mg/kg) was able to restore completely the acquisition of the conditioned response when administered both before and after MK-801. In vitro recordings of field excitatory postsynaptic potentials (fEPSPs) evoked in the hippocampal CA1 area by the electrical stimulation of the Schaffer collateral pathway indicates that RJR-2403 application to the bath enhance the release of glutamate by a presynaptic mechanism. These findings reveal that nicotinic acetylcholine receptors enhance glutamatergic transmission in hippocampal circuits involved in the acquisition of associative learning.