Storage of information into long-term memory (LTM) usually requires at least two waves of transcription in many species. However, there is no clear evidence of this phenomenon in insects, which are influential models for memory studies. We measured retention in honeybees after injecting a transcription inhibitor at different times before and after…

An adapted alternating treatments design was used to compare the efficacy of echoic and textual prompts to teach three students with autism (ages 8-15) to ask questions related to two pre-selected topics of conversation. Participants were first required to answer questions related to the topics to determine whether accurate responses were within…

We investigated the specific role of zinc present in large amounts in the synaptic vesicles of mossy fibers and coreleased with glutamate in the CA3 region. In previous studies, we have shown that blockade of zinc after release has no effect on the consolidation of spatial learning, while zinc is required for the consolidation of contextual fear…

Learning-induced modulation of neuronal intrinsic excitability is a metaplasticity mechanism that can impact the acquisition of new memories. Although the amygdala is important for emotional learning and other behaviors, including fear and anxiety, whether learning alters intrinsic excitability within the amygdala has received very little…

Human and preclinical models of addiction demonstrate that gonadal hormones modulate acquisition of drug seeking. Little is known, however, about the effects of these hormones on extinction of drug-seeking behavior. Here, we investigated how 17ß-estradiol (E[subscript 2]) affects expression and extinction of cocaine seeking in female rats. Using a…

Leptin, a 167 amino acid peptide, is synthesized predominantly in the adipose tissues and plays a key role in the regulation of food intake and body weight. Recent studies indicate that leptin receptor is expressed with high levels in many brain regions that may regulate synaptic plasticity. Here we show that deprivation of rapid eye movement…

Some memories enter into a labile state after retrieval, requiring reconsolidation in order to persist. One functional role of memory reconsolidation is the updating of existing memories. There are reports suggesting that reconsolidation can be modulated by a particular endogenous process taking place concomitantly to its natural course, such as…

The present research investigated the resulting contextual fear memory and structural plasticity changes in the dorsal hippocampus (DH) following stress and fear conditioning. This combination enhanced fear retention and increased the number of total and mature dendritic spines in DH. Intra-basolateral amygdala (BLA) infusion of midazolam prior to…

This study evaluated whether olfactory preconditioning is functional in newborn rabbits and based on joined or independent memory of odorants. First, after exposure to odorants A+B, the conditioning of A led to high responsiveness to odorant B. Second, responsiveness to B persisted after amnesia of A. Third, preconditioning was also functional…

The endocrine pancreas is richly innervated with sympathetic and parasympathetic projections from the brain. In the mid-20th century, it was established that alpha-adrenergic activation inhibits, whereas cholinergic stimulation promotes, insulin secretion; this demonstrated the importance of the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems in…

We investigated the role of cholinergic neurotransmission in olfactory fear learning. Mice receiving pairings of odor and foot shock displayed fear to the trained odor the following day. Pretraining injections of the nicotinic antagonist mecamylamine had no effect on subsequent freezing, while the muscarinic antagonist scopolamine significantly…

In resurgence, an operant behavior that has undergone extinction can return ("resurge") when a second operant that has replaced it itself undergoes extinction. The phenomenon may provide insight into relapse that may occur after incentive or contingency management therapies in humans. Three experiments with rats examined the impact of several…

Based on Skinner's classification of verbal behavior, the mand is the first and most advantageous verbal operant to develop. Deficits in vocal mand repertoires are common in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and can lead to decreased social interaction and increased problem behavior. The present investigation compared the effects of…

Conditioned stimuli (CS) can modulate reward-seeking behavior. This modulatory effect can be maladaptive and has been implicated in excessive reward seeking and relapse to drug addiction. We previously demonstrated that exposure to an appetitive CS causes an increase in the activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and cyclic-AMP…

Previous research has demonstrated that the conditional-only method (starting with a multiple-stimulus array) is more efficient than the simple-conditional method (progressive incorporation of more stimuli into the array) for teaching receptive labeling to children with autism spectrum disorders (Grow, Carr, Kodak, Jostad, & Kisamore, 2011).…