Memory reconsolidation: sensitivity of spatial memory to inhibition of protein synthesis in dorsal hippocampus during encoding and retrieval

Reconsolidation is a putative neuronal process in which the retrieval of a previously consolidated memory returns it to a labile state that is once again subject to stabilization. This study explored the idea that reconsolidation occurs in spatial memory when animals retrieve memory under circumstances in which new memory encoding is likely to occur. Control studies confirmed that intrahippocampal infusions of anisomycin inhibited protein synthesis locally and that the spatial training protocols we used are subject to overnight protein synthesis-dependent consolidation. We then compared the impact of anisomycin in two conditions: when memory retrieval occurred in a reference memory task after performance had reached asymptote over several days; and after a comparable extent of training of a delayed matching-to-place task in which new memory encoding was required each day. Sensitivity to intrahippocampal anisomycin was observed only in the protocol involving new memory encoding at the time of retrieval.