Antibody to Day-Old Chick Brain Glycoprotein Produces Amnesia in Adult Rats

Polyclonal antibody R-1, raised against a chick synaptic membrane glycoprotein fraction whose synthesis is enhanced following training on a passive avoidance task, produces amnesia when injected into chick forebrain 5.5 h posttraining. The amnestic IgG fraction specifically recognizes a low sialylated isoform of NCAM (Mileusnic, Rose, Lancashire, & Bullock, 1995). We have now investigated the effects of this antibody on memory formation in adult rats. R-1, preimmune serum, or saline was injected intracerebroventricularly 5.5 h posttraining through bilaterally implanted cannulae. Rats injected with R-1 and tested 48 h later showed a significant amnesia for avoidance compared with the controls. Amnesia was not apparent at 24 h posttraining. R-1 injections were without effect on spontaneous locomotor or exploratory activity in a hole-board test. The results contribute to the argument that the role of cell adhesion molecules in neuronal plasticity is not limited to the developing nervous system, but they play a more general role in the experience-dependent synaptic remodeling underlying long-term memory.