c-Fos transcriptional activity in the rat brain during pas-sive avoidance task after acquisition instrumental food-acquisition skill

In order to study the regularities of reconsolidation of food acquisition skills memory in withdrawal behavior two experimental groups were made. Animals (female Long-Evans rats, 185-220 g) of the first group were trained to interact with a bar using vibrissae on one side of the muzzle. Then these animals were trained to passively avoid electric shock. AC current (50 Hz, 0-27 V) was supplied through the cage floor. At a certain point the current was turned off in the secure zone but remained at a maximum in the rest of the cage for five seconds. After a 10 second break the test started again. Animals of the second group were taught the same food acqui-sition skill using their vibrissae; after that they were retrained to acquire food by pressing a bar with their paws. The rat-s behavior was video recorded for off-line analysis. Neurogenetic changes revealed by an immunohistochemical reaction to the c-Fos protein in those brain structures that are specifically activated at a stress, emotions and memory: the hippocampus (CA1/CA2/CA3); amygdala (MeA/CeA/BLA); hippothalamus (A1/A2; C1/C2); primary somatosensory cortex, the barrel field (S1BF); the retrosplenial cortex (RSA). The visualization of cells was achieved by means of light microscopy. The images were converted to an 8-bit format and ana-lyzed using Image Pro Plus software. The nonparametric Mann-Whitney test was performed using Statistica 10.0 software to ensure statistical validity. Distribution of c-Fos positive neurons among brain structures was analysed.

This study was partially supported by RFBR (grant # 15-06-99697).