Recovery of memory following forgetting induced by depletion of biogenic amines.

Following depletion of biogenic amines by reserpine, mice were trained to avoid one compartment of a shuttle box by employing the procedures of Pavlovian fear conditioning. Retention was tested one week later using both an active and a passive measure. A robust amnesia was apparent in reserpine-treated animals on both retention measures. Treatment with the mixed dopamine-serotonin agonist lisuride 30 min prior to the test alleviated the memory loss. Since improved retention in the drug treated mice was indexed by increased response latencies in the passive test and decreased latencies in the active test it is unlikely that the improvement in performance was the result of non-specific effects on activity. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that lisuride treatment before testing facilitates retrieval processes.