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Sex-related talkativeness and emotional memory
No full textEmotionally arousing events are more likely to be recalled compared to non-arousing events. Moreover, recent studies have begun to reveal seemingly large, but previously unsuspected, sex-related influences on this mechanism, and sex differences in cognition are consistently reported. Sex-related differences in language processing are well known from everyday life, as well as from the scientific literature. Our previous studies indicated that both sex and cerebral hemisphere constitute important interacting influences on neural correlates of emotion and emotional memory. Moreover, many data evidenced sex-related differences in language processing and conversational behaviour. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to evaluate possible talkativeness differences between the two sexes in the recollection of emotional stimuli, recording the number of words that men and women use when they are submitted to a declarative memory test, using two kinds of emotional stimuli: the International Affective Picture System (IAPS), a set of calibrated picture stimuli, and an Italian adaptation of two versions of a story, differing for their arousal characteristics (neutral and emotional), both widely used for investigating emotion and emotional memory. The evaluation of the number of words, utilized by men and women during the free recall of both kind of stimuli, showed that women used always an higher number of words compared to men. In conclusion, according to previous studies indicating that men and women process emotional stimuli differently, our findings suggest the existence of gender-related neural responses to emotional stimuli and could also contribute to the understanding of mechanisms underlying the gender disparity of neuropsychiatric diseases, such as mood disorders
Role of 5-HT7 Receptors on Memory Modulation in Rats
No full textThe abundance of serotonin (5-HT) in the central nervous system can explain its role in the regulation of different functions, such as sleep, feeding, sexuality, emotional status, and pain. In addition, 5-HT localized in “cognitive pathways” with hippocampus and frontal cortex as the main target structures, is involved in learning and memory processes. Although 5-HT7 receptor biological functions are still to be clarified, it was recently suggested that it may play a role in the control of learning and memory processes. The aim of this study was to assess the role of 5-HT7 receptors antagonist SB-269970 on working and reference memory in a radial arm maze task, utilizing a two-phase procedure, acquisition and test phases, conducted to evaluate working and reference memory, respectively. Our results showed that 5-HT7 receptors antagonist SB-269970 improved memory, decreasing the number of errors in test phase and, thus, affecting reference memory, while no effects were observed in working memory. These results could be explained taking into consideration the specific localization of 5-HT7 receptors in the CNS. In fact, high concentrations of 5-HT7 receptors were found in the HF, which exerts an important role on reference memory, while relatively low concentrations were present in the prefrontal cortex, involved in working memory. Thus, 5-HT7 receptor blockade had precognitive effect, when the learning task implicated a high degree of difficulty. This conclusion has a major implication in the context that 5-HT receptors play an important role under amnesia states (e.g., Alzheimer’s disease) or when the learning is complex.
We assessed the effect of SB-269970 (5-HT7 antagonist) on memory. Our results, showing that SB-269970 affects reference (RM), but not working memory (WM), can be explained considering the high localization of 5-HT7 receptors in brain areas implicated on RM, and their low concentrations in areas involved in WM
The role of endogenous fluctuations of estrogen on working and reference memory across the estrous cycle of female rat
No full textThe results of many studies conducted over the past two decades suggest a role for estrogen in
mammals'ability to learn and remember. In the present paper we analyzed the influence that the
endogenous fluctuation of estrogen, naturally present across the different phases of the estrous cycle
of female rats, can exert over the performance of tasks utilized to asses memory. In particular, we
analyzed the performances in an eight arm radial maze task, dependent upon working memory, and
in a water maze task, dependent upon spatial reference memory. The WM is aversively motivated by
the desire to escape onto a safe platform, whereas the RAM is motivated by food reward. The
difference in reinforcement may affect the speed of learning, the strategy adopted and the necessity
for accurate navigation. Therefore, coherent results obtained through the two different tasks can be
due to mnemonic factors.
The study was conducted during a long period of time, 14 months, utilizing gonadally intact females,
without pharmacological and surgical treatments. In order to evaluate the post-acquisition phase we
first trained the animals to reach the criterion in performing tasks, and then we submitted them to
experimental phase. Our results show that estrogen can have an effect on memory processes, and
that this effect may be different in relation to different kinds of memory. In fact, in our study, estrogen
selectively improved working memory, but not reference memory, during post-acquisition
performance of a radial maze task with four baited and four un-baited arms. Moreover, water maze
performances showed that estrogen has a negative effect on spatial reference memory
Physiological relevance of estrogen effects on memory across the menstrual cycle of young women
No full textRole of Sex Steroid Estrogen Across the Estrous Cycle on Working and Reference Memory in the Rats
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