Inhibitory Avoidance Extinction
Objective: Examine the involvement of cannabinoid CB1 receptor in the basolateral amygdala in inhibitory avoidance conditioning and extinction, and test whether cannabinoid activation reverses stress effects on these memory processes
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Equipment2
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Protocol Steps
Inhibitory Avoidance Conditioning
Rats undergo inhibitory avoidance conditioning, which establishes an aversive memory to a cue
Note: This is the initial conditioning phase before extinction testing
View evidence from paper
“examine the involvement of the cannabinoid CB1 receptor in the basolateral amygdala (BLA) in inhibitory avoidance (IA) conditioning and extinction”
Microinjection of WIN55,212-2 into BLA
Microinject WIN55,212-2 (5 μg/0.5 μl) into the basolateral amygdala before stress exposure
Note: This is performed before exposing rats to a stressor
View evidence from paper
“microinjecting WIN55,212-2 into the BLA before exposing the rats to a stressor reversed the enhancing effects of the stressor”
Stress Exposure
Expose rats to a stressor after microinjection
Note: Stressor type not specified in methods text
View evidence from paper
“microinjecting WIN55,212-2 into the BLA before exposing the rats to a stressor”
Inhibitory Avoidance Extinction
Conduct extinction of inhibitory avoidance memory through repeated cue exposures
Note: Extinction-like treatments require repeated cue exposures
View evidence from paper
“extinction-like treatments require repeated cue exposures and are vulnerable to reversal by a number of environmental factors”
Microinjection of AM251 into BLA
Microinject AM251 (6 ng/0.5 μl) into the basolateral amygdala as a control experiment
Note: Used to demonstrate CB1 receptor involvement in extinction
View evidence from paper
“the CB1 receptor antagonist AM251 (6 ng/0.5 μl) microinjected into the BLA significantly blocked extinction”
Corticosterone Level Measurement
Measure stress-induced elevations in corticosterone levels
Note: WIN55,212-2 microinjected into the BLA reduced stress-induced elevations in corticosterone levels
View evidence from paper
“WIN55,212-2 microinjected into the BLA reduced stress-induced elevations in corticosterone levels”
Sensorimotor Control Testing
Test sensorimotor parameters to ensure WIN55,212-2 does not cause sensorimotor deficits
Note: Control experiments to verify effects are not due to motor impairment
View evidence from paper
“the effects of WIN55,212-2 could not be attributed to sensorimotor deficits, because these parameters seemed unchanged”