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Updated: Jul 2, 2026
Extinction Training During the Reconsolidation Window Prevents Recovery of Fear
Published on: August 24, 2012
The time-dependent effects of physical exercise on fear memory reconsolidation and extinction in male rats
Vitor Flores Ferreira1, Rossana Rosa Porto2, Bruno Popik1
1Laboratório de Neurobiologia da Memória, Biophysics Department, Biosciences Institute, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre 91,501-970, Brazil; Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Institute of Health Sciences, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre 90,046-900, Brazil.
Abstract:
Aversive memories can enter a labile state during reactivation, allowing its content to be modified. Molecular changes induced by distinct interventions such as physical exercise can either facilitate or impair the strength of the original memory. However, the effect of the physical exercise performed at distinct time-points around memory reactivation remains poorly understood. Here we investigated how a single treadmill exercise bout delivered at different moments before or after a 5, 15 or 30-min reactivation session influences the reconsolidation and extinction of contextual fear conditioned memory in rats. Our results indicate that physical exercise of low-intensity 24 h and 10 min before the reactivation impairs reconsolidation and facilitates extinction. However, when the exercise protocol is performed immediately after the reactivation session, it facilitates reconsolidation and impairs extinction memory. Our results suggest that the specific time-point in which the physical exercise is performed plays an essential role in the reconsolidation and extinction outcome in fear conditioned animals.
