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| Author(s): |
Larissa Oliveira Melloni de Faria
Total Authors: 1
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| Document type: | Master's Dissertation |
| Press: | Campinas, SP. |
| Institution: | Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Instituto de Biologia |
| Defense date: | 2013-02-28 |
| Examining board members: |
Elenice Aparecida de Moraes Ferrari;
Liana Lins Melo;
Marcelo Nicolas Muscara
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| Advisor: | Elenice Aparecida de Moraes Ferrari |
| Abstract | |
Nitric oxide (NO) is an unconventional neurotransmitter which plays an important role in neurobiological processes of behavior and memory. Its synthesis is mediated by three isoforms of nitric oxide synthase (NOS): the neuronal (nNOS), the endothelial (eNOS) and the inducible (iNOS). This study investigated the effects of the administration of 7- nitroindazole (7-NI), a preferential nNOS inhibitor, in the consolidation and reconsolidation of aversive classical conditioning memory. Adult male pigeons were assigned to 5 groups: 7-nitroindazole, 7-NI (100nmol/0.5?/l; DMSO (20%), NaOH (50 mM) and Tween-80 (16%) diluted in PBS; i.c.v.) Vehicle group; VEH (0.5 ? / L; DMSO (20%), NaOH (50 mM) and Tween-80 (16%) diluted in PBS; i.c.v.), conditioning/non-treated group (COND), context/non-treated group (CONT) and non-conditioning/non-treated group (NÄIVE). Seven days after implantation of intracerebral ventricular (i.c.v.) microcannula the conditioning occurred with three context-shock associations in a session of 20 min. During the testing and retesting sessions pigeons were reexposed to the conditioning context for 5 min. The between sessions interval was 24h. Administration of 7-NI or vehicle occurred immediately after training (Experiment 1) or after testing (Experiment 2). The enzymatic activity of Ca2+ dependent and independent NOS and protein expression of nNOS in the hippocampus tissue were carried out following the behavioral test or retest. In Experiment 1, the occurrence of freezing in the testing session of 7-NI group was lower than in the training (p <0.01) and the testing sessions of COND and VEH groups (p <0.001). The activity of Ca2+ dependent NOS in the 7-NI group was lower than in COND and VEH groups (p <0.01) but did not differ from CONT and NÄIVE groups. The nNOS protein expression in the hippocampus did not differ among the different groups (p<0.05). In Experiment 2, there was a decrease of defensive behaviors, which include freezing, in the retest of the 7-NI compared with VEH and COND groups (p <0.05), but the groups did not differ in the activity of Ca2+ dependent NOS or the protein expression of nNOS. We conclude that 7-NI interfered on the consolidation and reconsolidation of memory, indicating activation of the nitric oxide signaling pathway in the hippocampus and in memory processes of conditioned fear context in pigeons (AU) | |
| FAPESP's process: | 09/13213-7 - Neuronal nitric oxide synthase(nNOS)participation in processes of memory consolidation and reconsolidation of classical aversive conditioning in pigeons |
| Grantee: | Larissa Oliveira Melloni de Faria |
| Support Opportunities: | Scholarships in Brazil - Master |