GABAA receptor activation in the CA1 area of the dorsal hippocampus impairs consolidation of conditioned contextual fear in C57BL/6J mice

Local infusion of the GABAA receptor agonist muscimol is used for reversible inactivation of septohippocampal brain structures associated with cognitive functions. However, information on the effective duration, affected processes and site(s) of action of muscimol in the hippocampus is lacking. Therefore, the dose- and time-dependent effects of bilateral dorsohippocampal infusion of muscimol (0.01–2.0 μg/mouse) below the CA1 area were examined on processing of fear memory in male C57BL/6J mice. Infusion of muscimol 15 min–6 h but not 9 h or 24 h before training impaired conditioned context-dependent fear tested 24 h or 48 h after training. Post-training infusion of muscimol also impaired context-dependent fear when applied either 4 h or 6 h after training, although with lower efficacy. Muscimol was ineffective when administered immediately, 1 h or 24 h after training. Infusion of muscimol 15 min before training impaired context-dependent fear 4–6 h after training indicating preserved short-term but impaired long-term memory. Regardless of infusion time and dose, muscimol had no effect on tone-dependent (cued) fear memory. The impairment by the fluorescently-labeled muscimol-bodipy (5.3 μg/mouse) were similar to those of an equimolar dose of muscimol (1 μg/mouse). The distribution profile after local infusion indicated that muscimol-bodipy (5.3 μg/mouse) was confined to the CA1 area of the dorsal hippocampus. These results demonstrated that GABAA receptor activation in the CA1 area of the dorsal hippocampus causes a long-term memory impairment of conditioned context-dependent fear mediated by a long-lasting (≥6 h) muscimol action most likely affecting consolidation processes.

► Dose- and time-dependent effects of the GABAA agonist muscimol were studied in mice.
► The effect of dorsohippocampal administration was tested in contextual fear learning.
► Muscimol impaired long-term but not short-term memory of conditioned contextual fear.
► Muscimol exerted long-lasting effects (≥6 h) impairing consolidation processes.
► Muscimol-bodiby labeling indicated an important role of the hippocampal CA1 area.