TRANSIENT EXPRESSION OF C-FOS IN RAT AMYGDALA DURING TRAINING IS REQUIRED FOR ENCODING CONDITIONED TASTE-AVERSION MEMORY

Local microinjection into rat amygdala of phosphorothioate modified ol igodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) antisense to c-fos several hours before con ditioned taste aversion (CTA) training impaired taste aversion memory tested 3-5 days after conditioning. In contrast, injection of the anti sense ODNs several days before training, before testing, or into the b asal ganglia, or injection of c-fos sense ODNs, had no effect on CTA m emory. Inhibition of translation by local microinjection of anisomycin into the amygdala shortly before as well as during CTA training, but not several days before training or shortly before testing, also impai red CTA memory, We conclude that translation in general, and c-Fos tra nslation in particular, in the amygdala during or immediately after CT A training is essential for encoding taste aversion memory.