Memory Formation: Evidence for a Specific Neurochemical System in the Amygdala

Abstract

β-Adrenergic antagonists injected into the amygdala complex of rats trained in a passive avoidance task produced time-dependent and dose-dependent decreases in retention of the task. In addition, the effects observed with β-adrenergic antagonists were both stereospecific and reversed by norepinephrine. The results support a role for an amygdala β-adrenergic system in memory processes.