THE 5-HT1A AGONIST TANDOSPIRONE DISRUPTS RETENTION BUT NOT ACQUISITION OF ACTIVE-AVOIDANCE LEARNING

To determine the effects of the 5-HT1A,, partial agonist tandospirone on acquisition and retention, mice were trained on a one-way active av oidance task and tested for retention 24 h later. Groups of mice were injected with either saline or 1, 5, or 10 mg/kg tandospirone 30 min b efore acquisition. Training was complete when animals achieved a crite rion of five avoidances in a block of six trials. Results showed that tandospirone did not alter the rate of acquisition of the avoidance re sponse, but retention was significantly disrupted by the 1- and 5-mg/k g doses. These findings confirm previous suggestions that 5-HT1A agoni sts can cause anterograde amnesia.