Pharmacobehavioural Evidence for Nitric Oxide and Noradrenaline Interactions With Ryanodine Receptors During Memory Formation in the Young Chick

Impairment of nitric oxide (NO) production, ryanodine receptor (RyR) calcium channel function and adrenoceptor activation have been found to prevent the formation of the long-term memory stage in young chicks trained on a single-trial discrimination avoidance task. The current study investigated whether these three activities were linked, and if so, the sequence of activation. Young chicks were trained using either a strongly or weakly reinforced variant of the single-trial discrimination avoidance task, yielding either a persistent or labile memory trace, respectively. Following strongly reinforced training, retention loss induced by a RyR inhibitor was prevented by a NO donor or noradrenaline (NA). A RyR agonist also prevented retention loss induced by either NO synthase or β 1+2 -adrenoceptor inhibition. These findings were interpreted to reflect the capacity of NO, RyR-dependent calcium release and NA to modulate memory by preventing retention loss. A second set of studies used weakly reinforced training. Although the administration of a RyR agonist promoted long-term memory formation, this facilitation was compromised in the presence of a β 1+2 -adrenoceptor antagonist, but not a NO synthase inhibitor. Similarly, the inhibition of RyRs interfered with the facilitation of retention induced by a NO donor, but not NA. These differential findings with weakly reinforced training suggest that NO facilitates memory formation through mechanisms involving RyR-dependent calcium release. The findings also indicate that RyRs may promote memory formation through noradrenergic activation of β 2 -adrenoceptors. This study demonstrates an intricate role for RyRs underlying memory formation.