Memory reconsolidation impairments in sign-tracking to an audiovisual compound stimulus

• Published in: Behavioural brain research Vol. 393; p. 112774
• Main Authors: Drame, Mohamed L., Balaet, Maria, Lee, Jonathan L.C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01.09.2020
• Subjects: Autoshaping; Destabilization; Extinction; Pavlovian; Reconsolidation; Sign tracking; Sign tracking; Reconsolidation; Autoshaping; Pavlovian; Extinction; Destabilization
• ISSN: 0166-4328; 1872-7549
• DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2020.112774

•Reconsolidation and extinction can be impaired in sign-tracking to an audiovisual compound stimulus.•There is an intermediate level of stimulus re-exposure between those sufficient to induce reconsolidation and extinction.•Destabilization can be induced by exposure to the auditory component of the compound stimulus.•Destabilization can be induced both inside and outside the training context. Studies of memory reconsolidation of pavlovian memories have typically employed unimodal conditioned stimuli, despite the use of multimodal compound stimuli in other settings. Here we studied sign-tracking behaviour to a compound audiovisual stimulus. First, we observed not unexpectedly that sign-tracking was poorer to the audiovisual compound than to unimodal visual stimuli. Then, we showed that, depending on the parameters of compound stimulus re-exposure at memory reactivation, systemic MK-801 treatment either impaired extinction to improve sign-tracking at test, or disrupted reconsolidation to impair test behaviour. When memory reactivation consisted of re-exposure to only the auditory component of the compound stimulus, we observed sign-tracking impairments following MK-801 treatment, but only under certain test conditions. This was in contrast to the consistent impairment following reactivation with the full audiovisual compound. Moreover, the parameters of auditory stimulus presentation to enable MK-801-induced impairment at test varied depending on whether the stimulus was presented within or outside the training context. These findings suggest that behaviour under the control of appetitive pavlovian compound stimuli can be modulated by targeting both extinction and reconsolidation, and that it is not necessary to re-expose to the full compound stimulus in order to achieve a degree of modulation of behaviour.