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Effects of anisomycin on inhibitory avoidance in male and female CD1 mice
Santiago Monleón Verdú1, M Carmen Arenas Fenollar, Concepción Vinader Caerols
1Facultad de Psicología-Departamento de Facultad de Psicobiología, Universitat de València, Valencia, Spain. santiago.monleon@uv.es
Abstract:
The antibiotic anisomycin inhibits protein synthesis, which much research has suggested is required for the formation of long-term memory. The present work studied the effects of acute subcutaneous administration of anisomycin on the consolidation of memory in an inhibitory avoidance task in CD1 mice of both sexes. The animals were separated by sex and randomly distributed into three groups: two groups were injected with 150 mg/kg anisomycin, one immediately after the training phase and the other 24 h later, while the control group received saline. The interval between training and test was four days. Anisomycin administrated immediately after training produced statistically significant impairment of memory, which was not observed when the drug was administered 24 h after training. No sex differences were observed in the effects of anisomycin. These results extend to female mice the memory impairing effects of anisomycin previously observed in males and endorse the hypothesis that the establishment of long-term memory depends on protein synthesis shortly after training.
Insights
The antibiotic anisomycin impairs long-term memory formation when given immediately after training by inhibiting protein synthesis. This effect was not seen when anisomycin was administered 24 hours later in mice.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Molecular Biology
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Protein synthesis is crucial for long-term memory consolidation.
- Anisomycin is an antibiotic known to inhibit protein synthesis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of anisomycin on memory consolidation in mice.
- To determine the time-dependency of anisomycin's impact on memory formation.
Main Methods:
- CD1 mice of both sexes were used in an inhibitory avoidance task.
- Anisomycin (150 mg/kg) or saline was administered subcutaneously immediately or 24 hours post-training.
- Memory was tested after four days.
Main Results:
- Anisomycin administered immediately after training significantly impaired memory consolidation.
- No memory impairment was observed when anisomycin was given 24 hours post-training.
- No sex differences were found in anisomycin's effects.
Conclusions:
- Anisomycin's memory-impairing effects are time-dependent, occurring shortly after training.
- These findings support the hypothesis that protein synthesis is essential for establishing long-term memory.
- The study confirms anisomycin's effects on memory consolidation in both male and female mice.
