Differential Interaction of Platelet-Activating Factor and NMDA Receptor Function in Hippocampal and Dorsal Striatal Memory Processes

• Published in: Neurobiology of learning and memory 2001-05, Vol.75 (3), p.310-324
• Main Authors: Teather, Lisa A., Packard, Mark G., Bazan, Nicolas G.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animal; Animals; Behavior, Animal - drug effects; Biological and medical sciences; caudate nucleus; Caudate Nucleus - drug effects; Conditioning; Corpus Striatum - drug effects; Dizocilpine Maleate - administration & dosage; Dizocilpine Maleate - adverse effects; Dizocilpine Maleate - antagonists & inhibitors; Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists - administration & dosage; Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists - adverse effects; Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists - metabolism; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; glutamate; hippocampus; Hippocampus - drug effects; Injections; Learning. Memory; Male; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; memory; Memory - drug effects; MK-801; NMDA; Platelet Activating Factor - administration & dosage; Platelet Activating Factor - pharmacology; platelet-activating factor; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Random Allocation; Rats; Rats, Long-Evans; Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate - drug effects; striatum; Visual Perception - drug effects
• ISSN: 1074-7427; 1095-9564
• DOI: 10.1006/nlme.2000.3974

The interaction between platelet activating factor (PAF) and NMDA receptor function in hippocampal and dorsal striatal memory processes was examined. In both a hidden and a visible platform water maze task, peripheral post-training injection of MK-801 (0.05 mg/kg) impaired memory. Post-training intrahippocampal infusions of PAF (1.0 μg/0.5 μl) enhanced memory in the hidden platform task, while intradorsal striatal infusion of PAF (1.0 μg/0.5 μl) enhanced memory in the visible platform task. The memory impairing effects of post-training injection of MK-801 was blocked by concurrent intrahippocampal infusion of PAF. In contrast, post-training injection of MK-801 blocked the memory enhancing effects of concurrent intradorsal striatal infusion of PAF. The results suggest that (1) the memory enhancing effects of intracerebral PAF infusion involve an interaction with NMDA receptor function, and (2) the nature of this interaction may represent a differential mechanism mediating the distinct roles of the hippocampus and dorsal striatum in cognitive memory and stimulus-response habit formation, respectively.