Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, New York 10003, USA.
Learn Mem. 2010 Sep 24;17(10):489-93. doi: 10.1101/lm.1918210. Print 2010 Oct.
Norepinephrine receptors have been studied in emotion, memory, and attention. However, the role of alpha1-adrenergic receptors in fear conditioning, a major model of emotional learning, is poorly understood. We examined the effect of terazosin, an alpha1-adrenergic receptor antagonist, on cued fear conditioning. Systemic or intra-lateral amygdala terazosin delivered before conditioning enhanced short- and long-term memory. Terazosin delivered after conditioning did not affect consolidation. In vitro, terazosin impaired lateral amygdala inhibitory postsynaptic currents leading to facilitation of excitatory postsynaptic currents and long-term potentiation. Since alpha1 blockers are prescribed for hypertension and post-traumatic stress disorder, these results may have important clinical implications.
去甲肾上腺素受体在情绪、记忆和注意力方面已经得到了研究。然而，α1-肾上腺素能受体在恐惧条件反射中的作用，作为情绪学习的主要模型，却知之甚少。我们研究了特拉唑嗪，一种α1-肾上腺素能受体拮抗剂，对条件恐惧反射的影响。在条件反射之前，系统或内侧杏仁核中的特拉唑嗪给药可增强短期和长期记忆。条件反射后给予特拉唑嗪不会影响巩固。在体外，特拉唑嗪损害了外侧杏仁核抑制性突触后电流，导致兴奋性突触后电流和长时程增强的促进。由于α1 阻滞剂被用于治疗高血压和创伤后应激障碍，因此这些结果可能具有重要的临床意义。
