Wang Desheng, Darwish Deya S, Schreurs Bernard G
Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute, West Virginia University School of Medicine, Morgantown, West Virginia 26506, USA.
Behav Pharmacol. 2006 Jun;17(4):319-29. doi: 10.1097/01.fbp.0000224381.56121.15.
A large body of data suggests that potassium channels may play an important role in learning and memory. Previous in-vitro research in a number of species including Hermissenda and the rabbit suggests that a 4-aminopyridine-sensitive transient potassium channel may be involved in classical conditioning. We investigated the effects of in-vivo 4-aminopyridine administration (0.5 mg/kg) on classical conditioning of the rabbit nictitating membrane response using a battery of tests designed to assess the associative, sensory, and motor contributors of 4-aminopyridine to responding. 4-Aminopyridine enhanced both classical conditioning and conditioning-specific reflex modification compared with a saline vehicle control, and these effects had several nonassociative components including an increase in the frequency of responding to both the conditioned and the unconditioned stimuli, suggesting a sensitizing effect of the drug. Although 4-aminopyridine can have peripheral effects, it may also modify cerebellar excitability or hippocampal neurotransmitter balance resulting in heightened responsiveness to stimulation.
