Papers by Roberto Prado-Alcalá
Amyloid β Enhances Typical Rodent Behavior While It Impairs Contextual Memory Consolidation
Behavioural Neurology, 2015
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is associated with an early hippocampal dysfunction, which is likely ind... more Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is associated with an early hippocampal dysfunction, which is likely induced by an increase in soluble amyloid beta peptide (Aβ). This hippocampal failure contributes to the initial memory deficits observed both in patients and in AD animal models and possibly to the deterioration in activities of daily living (ADL). One typical rodent behavior that has been proposed as a hippocampus-dependent assessment model of ADL in mice and rats is burrowing. Despite the fact that AD transgenic mice show some evidence of reduced burrowing, it has not been yet determined whether or not Aβcan affect this typical rodent behavior and whether this alteration correlates with the well-known Aβ-induced memory impairment. Thus, the purpose of this study was to test whether or not Aβaffects burrowing while inducing hippocampus-dependent memory impairment. Surprisingly, our results show that intrahippocampal application of Aβincreases burrowing while inducing memory impairment. We...
Cortical spreading depression and state-dependent learning. A negative finding
Neuroscience Letters, 1978
ABSTRACT
Over-reinforcement protects against memory deficits induced by muscarinic blockade of the striatum
Boletín de estudios médicos y biológicos
It has been shown that blockade of muscarinic receptors of the anterior striatum (AS) induces sig... more It has been shown that blockade of muscarinic receptors of the anterior striatum (AS) induces significant impairments in the retrieval of stored information of a passive avoidance task, trained with conventional parameters of footshock, and that the same blockade is ineffective in altering short-term memory of this task. The results of the present experimental series showed that in conditions of over-reinforcement, microinjections of scopolamine into the AS shortly after training or before retention testing of passive avoidance, do not produce memory deficits when retention is assessed 30 min, 24 h or 48 h after training. It is suggested that after an enhanced learning experience (over-reinforcement) striatal cholinergic activity is not involved in short- and long-term memory functions.
[The consolidation of memory, one century on]
Revista de neurologia
The theory of memory consolidation, based on the work published by Georg Elias Muller and Alfons ... more The theory of memory consolidation, based on the work published by Georg Elias Muller and Alfons Pilzecker over a century ago, continues to guide research into the neurobiology of memory, either directly or indirectly. In their classic monographic work, they concluded that fixing memory requires the passage of time (consolidation) and that memory is vulnerable during this period of consolidation, as symptoms of amnesia appear when brain functioning is interfered with before the consolidation process is completed. Most of the experimental data concerning this phenomenon strongly support the theory. In this article we present a review of experiments that have made it possible to put forward a model that explains the amnesia produced in conventional learning conditions, as well as another model related to the protection of memory when the same instances of learning are submitted to a situation involving intensive training. Findings from relatively recent studies have shown that treatme...
Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 1998
The striatum is involved in memory consolidation; also involved in this process is one of its two... more The striatum is involved in memory consolidation; also involved in this process is one of its two major efferent targets, namely, the substantia nigra. It is not clear, however, if the other target, the globus pallidus, participates in storage and/or performance of learned information. To examine this problem, male Wistar rats were trained in an inhibitory avoidance task and tested for retention 24 h afterward. Independent groups were infused, unilaterally, with 2% lidocaine in the pallidus either 2 min after training or 2 min before testing. No disturbances of memory were detected with posttraining infusion, but a significant deficit in retention was observed as a consequence of pretest infusion. Infusion of isotonic saline into the globus pallidus, or of lidocaine before testing into the parietal cortex, after training into the ventral thalamic nucleus, and both before training and testing into this thalamic nucleus were without effect. Taken together, the data indicate that unilateral inactivation of the GP interferes with retrieval of information derived from inhibitory avoidance training, but not with the early stages of memory consolidation of this task, and other work indicates that the pallidus may be involved in a late phase of this process.
Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience, Jan 18, 2011
Memory is markedly impaired when normal activity of any of a number of cerebral structures is dis... more Memory is markedly impaired when normal activity of any of a number of cerebral structures is disturbed after a learning experience. A growing body of evidence indicates, however, that such interference with neuronal function becomes negligible when the learning experience is significantly enhanced. We now report on the effects of enhanced training on retention after temporary inactivation of cerebral nuclei known to be involved in memory, namely the substantia nigra (SN), striatum (STR), and amygdala (AMY). When training was conducted with a relatively low intensity of footshock (1.0 mA), post-training infusion of lidocaine into the SN, STR, or AMY produced a marked memory deficit. Increasing the aversive stimulation to 2.0 mA protected memory from the amnesic effect of intranigral lidocaine, but there was still a deficit after its infusion into the STR and AMY. Administration of lidocaine into each of these nuclei, in the groups that had been trained with 3.0 mA, was completely in...
Neurobehavioral toxicology, 1980
Young rats were treated with thinner inhalations (50 and 100 p.p.m., v/v). The brains of treated ... more Young rats were treated with thinner inhalations (50 and 100 p.p.m., v/v). The brains of treated and control animals were studied with standard techniques of light and electron microscopy and with ultrastructural cytochemical method for localization of RNA. No alterations were found in the group treated with a single session of inhalation, irrespective of the dose. Animals treated with 10 or 20 sessions showed altered neurons in cerebral cortex, caudate nucleus, hypothalamus and cerebellar cortex. More frequent alterations were: small nucleoli with loss of their reticular structure and a marked decrease of their normal granular component; diminution of perichromatin fibrils and of ribosomes. In the animals treated with high doses of thinner (20 sessions, 100 p.p.m.) a small number of neurons show an increased amount of lysosomes, autophagosomes and neurofibrillar hypertrophy. These results suggest that thinner inhalation causes an initial impairment of gene transcription and of RNA ...
Correlation of evoked potentials in the caudate nucleus and conditioned motor responses
Physiology & behavior, 1973
... Neurophyseol 12:405-420, 1960. 2. Albe-Fessard, D., E. Oswaldo-Cruz et C. Rocha-Miranda. Acti... more ... Neurophyseol 12:405-420, 1960. 2. Albe-Fessard, D., E. Oswaldo-Cruz et C. Rocha-Miranda. Activit oqus daps le noyau cauddu chat en ronse a des types divers d'affbrences. II. ... BrustCarmona, H. and 1. Zarco-Coronado. Instrumental and inhibitory conditioning in cats. II. ...
Caudate nucleus lesions and passive avoidance: a quantitative study
Boletín de estudios médicos y biológicos
Behavioral and Neural Biology, 1984
One-trial passive avoidance training was given to Wistar rats and retention of the task was measu... more One-trial passive avoidance training was given to Wistar rats and retention of the task was measured 30 min and 24 h later. Atropine (60 micrograms) was injected into the anterior caudate nucleus 2 min after training. Excellent retention was evident 30 min after training, whereas a significant deficit in memory was found when retention was tested 24 h after training. These results suggest that blockade of cholinergic activity of the caudate nucleus induced shortly after training interferes with the consolidation of long-term memory but not with short-term memory processes.
Therapeutic effect of enhanced experiences: Protection against experimental amnesia
Effects of pre-training inactivation of the striatum on over-reinforced inhibitory avoidance
Mechanisms of neuroleptic-induced performance deficit. A critical review
La consolidación de la memoria, un siglo después
Blockade and activation of caudate cholinergic activity
Effects of pre-training systemic administration of p-chloroamphetamine on inhibitory avoidance trained with high and low foot-shock
Bloqueo reversible de respuestas condicionadas motoras por la aplicación de anestésicos locales en el núcleo caudado
Serial and parallel processing during memory consolidation
Modulatory Effects of Acetylcholine and Catecholamines in the Caudate Nucleus During Motor Conditioning
Advances in Behavioral Biology, 1974
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Papers by Roberto Prado-Alcalá