Proactive and retroactive interference with associative memory consolidation in the snail Lymnaea is time and circuit dependent

By Michael Crossley, F. D. Lorenzetti, Souvik Naskar, Michael O'Shea, G. Kemenes, P. Benjamin, I. Kemenes. 2019

29 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Interference-based forgetting occurs when new information acquired either before or after a learning event attenuates memory expression (proactive and retroactive interference, respectively). Multiple learning events often occur in rapid succession, leading to competition between consolidating memories. However, it is unknown what factors determine which memory is remembered or forgotten. Here, we challenge the snail, Lymnaea, to acquire two consecutive similar or different memories and identify learning-induced changes in neurons of its well-characterized motor circuits. We show that when new learning takes place during a stable period of the original memory, proactive interference only occurs if the two consolidating memories engage the same circuit mechanisms. If different circuits are used, both memories survive. However, any new learning during a labile period of consolidation promotes retroactive interference and the acquisition of the new memory. Therefore, the effect of interference depends both on the timing of new learning and the underlying neuronal mechanisms. Michael Crossley et al. use the snail Lymnaea to investigate the factors involved in determining which memories are remembered or forgotten when multiple learning events happen close together. They find that timing of events and whether the same neuronal mechanisms are used are key factors in determining whether interference will occur.

Subfields: Cell Biology, Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience, Cognitive Neuroscience

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In Cell Biology

1. Qian Li
2. Liyuan Wang
3. Xuchen Zhang
4. Yi Zhong

In Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience

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2. Liyuan Wang
3. Xuchen Zhang
4. Yi Zhong
5. Wantong Hu
6. Bohan Zhao
7. Jianjian Zhao

In Cognitive Neuroscience

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2. Yi Zhong
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4. Xuchen Zhang

Citations in the corpus

• Genetic dissection of mutual interference between two consecutive learning tasks in Drosophila (2022, background): “Although Pro- I in the current work only occurs when the interval between two tasks is less than 20 min, the phenomenon of ProI varies across biological learning systems and tasks (Crossley et al., 2019; Epp et al., 2016; Jonides and Nee, 2006).”