Basolateral amygdala lesions attenuate safe taste memory-related c-fos expression in the rat perirhinal cortex

Previous results indicated that damage and pharmacological inactivation of the basolateral amygdala (BLA) interfere with the attenuation of taste neophobia. A similar disruption of safe taste memories formation induced by the inhibition of protein synthesis in the perirhinal cortex (PRh) has been reported. Thus, we have assessed the effect of bilateral BLA neurotoxic lesions on PRh activity after novel and familiar taste exposure. Wistar male rats with NMDA lesions of the BLA and SHAM-operated received two consecutive exposures to a 3% cider vinegar solution. Fos-like immunoreactivity (FLI) was examined as a marker of neuronal activity in PRh. As expected the BLA lesioned group showed no evidence of neophobia attenuation. A similar number of PRh Fos-positive cells were found in SHAM and BLA groups exposed to the novel taste solution. However, the BLA-lesioned group exhibited a lower number of Fos stained cells than the SHAM-lesioned group after being exposed to the familiar taste solution. This supports the notion of BLA and PRh as components of a neural circuit involved in safe taste recognition memory and suggests a role of PRh in various forms of recognition memory.