Apomorphine and glycoprotein synthesis during consolidation.

The dopamine agonist, apomorphine, was injected intrahippocampally immediately after acquisition of a brightness discrimination task, which was motivated by footshock in rats. This led to an increase in the incorporation of L-fucose into total proteins which were measured in the hippocampus 7-9 hours later. In behavioral experiments, the same application improved the retention of a learned task. A possible linkage between increased glycoprotein synthesis and improvement of the retention of a new learned behavior due to the action of apomorphine is discussed.