Consolidation, reconsolidation and recovery of object recognition memory: role of environmental enrichment and of synaptic plasticity in perirhinal cortex

The aim of this thesis is to investigate different aspects of object recognition memory, such as system consolidation, reconsolidation and long term recall, in relation to perirhinal cortex plasticity and to the role played by EE. The thesis is divided in 4 sections, the first two devoted to investigate EE effects on system consolidation and reconsolidation and the second two devoted to investigate the role played in object recognition memory by extracellular matrix and dendritic spine plasticity in the perirhinal cortex. In the first section I will show the effect of EE on the recall of very remote object recognition memories, analyzing the “saving effect” in mice. In the second section I shall present a novel, behavioural paradigm that allows to probe the reconsolidation process and I shall show the effects of EE on the duration of the reconsolidation window in mice. In the third section I shall show the effect of removing from perirhinal cortex components of the extracellular matrix, the perineuronal nets, on object recognition memory and perirhinal cortex synaptic plasticity. In the fourth section I will characterize a mouse model deficient for p140Cap, a binding protein involved in dendritic spine formation, and I will show how this genetic depletion leads to impaired recognition memory and perirhinal cortex synaptic plasticity. Studies have been performed in wt and transgenic mice.