Effects of lipopolysaccharide on consolidation of partial learning in the Y-maze

Research on consolidation of long-term memory suggests that acute immune system activation induced by endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS) may disrupt consolidation of newly acquired learning. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were trained to perform a simple Y-maze task and were immediately afterwards administered LPS (15 microg/kg) or saline. After a seven-day interval, subjects were returned to the Y-maze and were retrained to criterion. It was found that subjects treated with saline required significantly fewer trials to relearn the task relative to the LPS group and a no-partial-learning control group, which themselves did not differ. These results are most readily explained in terms of a disruptive effect of acute immune system activation on consolidation of newly induced acquired memories.