Stimuli encoded shortly before an aversive event are typically well remembered. Traditionally, this emotional memory enhancement has been attributed to beneficial effects of physiological arousal on memory formation. Here, we proposed an additional mechanism and tested whether memory formation is driven by the unpredictable nature of aversive…

Although intelligence has traditionally been identified as "the ability to learn" (Peterson, 1925), this relationship has been questioned in simple operant learning tasks (Spielberger, 1962). Nevertheless, recent pieces of research have demonstrated a strong and significant correlation between associative learning measures and intelligence…

Synaptically released Zn[superscript 2+] is a potential modulator of neurotransmission and synaptic plasticity in fear-conditioning pathways. Zinc transporter 3 (ZnT3) knock-out (KO) mice are well suited to test the role of zinc in learned fear, because ZnT3 is colocalized with synaptic zinc, responsible for its transport to synaptic vesicles,…

Voltage-gated potassium channels (Kv) are critically involved in learning and memory processes. It is not known, however, whether the expression of the Kv1.1 subunit, constituting Kv1 channels, can be specifically regulated in brain areas important for learning and memory processing. Radioactive in situ hybridization was used to evaluate the…

Classical fear conditioning requires the recognition of conditioned stimuli (CS) and the association of the CS with an aversive stimulus. We used Affymetrix oligonucleotide microarrays to characterize changes in gene expression compared to naive mice in both the amygdala and the hippocampus 30 min after classical fear conditioning and 30 min after…

The cAMP/PKA pathway plays a critical role in learning and memory systems in animals ranging from mice to "Drosophila" to "Aplysia." Studies of olfactory learning in "Drosophila" suggest that altered expression of either positive or negative regulators of the cAMP/PKA signaling pathway beyond a certain optimum range may be deleterious. Here we…