Cognition, Behavior, and Memory
Author: Juan Francisco Robuschi | Email: robuschijuan@gmail.com
Juan Francisco Robuschi 1°, Francisco Javier Maza 2°, Alejandro Delorenzi 1°
1° Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias (IFIBYNE-UBA-CONICET), Ciudad Universitaria, Pabellón IFIBYNE, Argentina; Departamento de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Celular, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Universitaria, Argentina.
2° Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias (IFIBYNE-UBA-CONICET), Ciudad Universitaria, Pabellón IFIBYNE, Argentina.
Predicting whether a particular stressor strengthens or disrupts a specific memory phase is intricate. Unlike theories focused on modulating memory strength, our hypothesis posits that the behavioral expression of reactivated memories is determined, at least in part, by the interplay between internal states (emotions) and mnemonic traces when memories are labile. There, changes in concurrent internal states form emotional traces that will unfold during memory reactivation, modulating expression in evaluation sessions.
In this study, within the aversive memory paradigm of Neohelice, we analyzed behavioral changes during the acquisition and retrieval of this memory (changes in the escape response triggered by a visual danger stimulus – VDS) and variations due to different internal states (water deprivation stress, fluoxetine). The parameter of “crab’s silhouette shift” in the training arena induced by the VDS (obtained through ImageJ routines) significantly correlated with manually measured distance traveled (Kinovea software), faithfully reflecting the escape response and the learning curve.
Likewise, from position heatmaps during VDS stimulation, the one-dimensional parameter “stationary area” was obtained. The interaction between these 2 variables is considered as an adjunct parameter to jointly assess displacement along with location. These image analysis could constitute tools for studying behavioral changes induced by emotional states in this aversive memory paradigm.