%0 Journal Article
%T ¦Â-Adrenergic Receptors Regulate the Acquisition and Consolidation Phases of Aversive Memory Formation Through Distinct, Temporally Regulated Signaling Pathways
%A David E A Bush
%A Emily K Smith
%A Hillary C Schiff
%A JoAnna E Klein
%A Joseph E LeDoux
%A Joshua P Johansen
%A Mian Hou
%A Robert M Sears
%J Archive of "Neuropsychopharmacology".
%D 2017
%R 10.1038/npp.2016.238
%X Memory formation requires the temporal coordination of molecular events and cellular processes following a learned event. During Pavlovian threat (fear) conditioning (PTC), sensory and neuromodulatory inputs converge on post-synaptic neurons within the lateral nucleus of the amygdala (LA). By activating an intracellular cascade of signaling molecules, these G-protein-coupled neuromodulatory receptors are capable of recruiting a diverse profile of plasticity-related proteins. Here we report that norepinephrine, through its actions on ¦Â-adrenergic receptors (¦ÂARs), modulates aversive memory formation following PTC through two molecularly and temporally distinct signaling mechanisms. Specifically, using behavioral pharmacology and biochemistry in adult rats, we determined that ¦ÂAR activity during, but not after PTC training initiates the activation of two plasticity-related targets: AMPA receptors (AMPARs) for memory acquisition and short-term memory and extracellular regulated kinase (ERK) for consolidating the learned association into a long-term memory. These findings reveal that ¦ÂAR activity during, but not following PTC sets in motion cascading molecular events for the acquisition (AMPARs) and subsequent consolidation (ERK) of learned associations
%U https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5312069/