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26 May 2022 Epicatechin Alters the Activity of a Neuron Necessary for Long-Term Memory of Aerial Respiratory Behavior in Lymnaea stagnalis
Yoshimasa Komatsuzaki, Ken Lukowiak
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Abstract

Epicatechin (EpiC) enhances long-term memory (LTM) formation in the pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis. Here we investigated at the level of a single neuron, RPeD1, which is a necessary site for LTM formation of operant conditioning of aerial respiration, how EpiC may bring about its enhancing effect on LTM formation. When snails were operantly conditioned in EpiC (15 mg/l) by a single 0.5 h training session, which typically only results in memory lasting ∼3 h, they now formed LTM lasting at least 24 h. We recorded from RPeD1 in semi-intact preparations made from snails 24 h after a single 0.5 h training session in EpiC or pond water (PW) and found that the firing and bursting rate of RPeD1 decreased significantly in the EpiC preparations compared to the PW preparations. However, the excitability (i.e., number of spikes evoked by injected depolarizing current) of RPeD1 was not different between the two preparations. We next performed “in vitro” operant training in semi-intact preparations made from naïve snails. In the training, we applied a gentle tactile stimulus to the pneumostome area every time the semi-intact preparation began to open. The preparations exposed to EpiC-saline (15 mg/l) exhibited significantly increased RPeD1 excitability compared with saline only preparations. These results suggest that EpiC can alter some electrophysiological properties of a neuron that is a necessary site for learning and memory formation.

© 2022 Zoological Society of Japan
Yoshimasa Komatsuzaki and Ken Lukowiak "Epicatechin Alters the Activity of a Neuron Necessary for Long-Term Memory of Aerial Respiratory Behavior in Lymnaea stagnalis," Zoological Science 39(4), 365-373, (26 May 2022). https://doi.org/10.2108/zs220008
Received: 28 January 2022; Accepted: 16 April 2022; Published: 26 May 2022
KEYWORDS
electrophysiology
epicatechin
long-term memory
Lymnaea stagnalis
Operant conditioning
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