Peripheral administration of poly I:C disrupts contextual fear memory consolidation and BDNF expression in mice

In the current study, administration of poly I:C induced a deficit in contextual, but not auditory-cue, fear memory consolidation. This memory deficit coincided with a decrease in hippocampal and cortical BDNF mRNA expression. These results extend prior work, and suggest that a single peripheral injection of poly I:C disrupts contextual fear memory consolidation processes in adult mice, and that these deficits may potentially be mediated by diminished BDNF expression.

► Poly I:C administration leads to contextual, but not auditory-cue, fear memory consolidation deficits. ► These deficits cannot be attributed to sickness behavior. ► Decreased BDNF mRNA was observed in the hippocampus and parietal cortex.