Behavioral effects of arginine8-vasopressin in the Hebb-Williams maze

Arginine(8)-vasopressin (AVP) has been shown to improve memory consolidation in various mnemonic tasks. Our previous studies have pointed out the involvement of the hippocampus (with higher sensitivity of its ventral part) in memory consolidation and retrieval processes during discriminative learning in mice. The present study was designed to extend our knowledge, firstly, of the range of tasks and consequently the types of information for which the peptide improves consolidation processes, and secondly, the effects of AVP on information treatment processes such an information transfer. To this end, the effects of AVP were analyzed in the Hebb-Williams closed-field maze. Mice were initially trained on one of the mazes in the Hebb-Williams series (Maze 7) and subsequently tested on either that maze or another maze in the series (Maze 11). The effects of the peptide on both memory consolidation and information transfer processes were analyzed in relation to the route of administration: peripheral (subcutaneous, s.c.), central (intracerebroventricular, i.c.v.), and in situ (dorsal or ventral hippocampus). The results showed that AVP facilitated spatial memory consolidation following s.c., i.c.v, and dorsal, but not ventral hippocampal administration. This differential effect of AVP following injection into the hippocampus can be interpreted in regards to this structure's functions. In line with the involvement of the dorsal hippocampus in spatial memory, the effectiveness of the peptide in the Hebb-Williams maze, which contains spatial components, was better when the treatment was performed in this part of the structure. In contrast, whatever the route of administration, AVP had no effect on processes related to the transfer from one learning situation to another.