MOLECULAR-BASIS FOR ACTIVITY OF THE DOPAM INE SYNAPSE IN THE MECHANISMS OF LEARNING AND AMNESIA

Neurochemical events underlying the activity of the dopamine synapse d uring the retrieval of memory and its impairment (<<psychogenic>> amne sia) are considered in the paper. Physico-chemical parameters of opera tion of D2 receptor and catechole content were investigated in various brain areas(striatum, neostriatum, hypothalamus, amigdala, frontal co rtex, hippocampus, nuclei accumbens, A9, and A10) in intact, learned, and amnestic rats. The impairment in the memory trace retrieval was fo und to be associated with a significant decrease in activation of syna ptic dopamine receptors and a modification of the dopamine transformat ion pathway.