Massed but not spaced training impairs spatial memory

Commins, Seán; Cunningham, Lorretto; Harvey, Deirdre; Walsh, Derek

doi:10.1016/s0166-4328(02)00270-x

Cited by 87 publications

(64 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…The effect is observed in one of the most frequently tested animal learning tasks, the Morris water maze (Klapdor and Van Der Staay 1998;Gerlai 2001). In one study, animals trained with spaced trials performed better than animals trained with massed trials, and as expected, had a better memory after training (Commins et al 2003). In yet another study, animals trained with massed versus spaced trials performed similarly during training and remembered the platform location equally well when tested shortly after training.…”

mentioning

confidence: 77%

Neurogenesis and the spacing effect: Learning over time enhances memory and the survival of new neurons

Sisti¹,

Glass²,

Shors³

2007

Learn. Mem.

158

111

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Information that is spaced over time is better remembered than the same amount of information massed together. This phenomenon, known as the spacing effect, was explored with respect to its effect on learning and neurogenesis in the adult dentate gyrus of the hippocampal formation. Because the cells are generated over time and because learning enhances their survival, we hypothesized that training with spaced trials would rescue more new neurons from death than the same number of massed trials. In the first experiment, animals trained with spaced trials in the Morris water maze outperformed animals trained with massed trials, but there was not a direct effect of trial spacing on cell survival. Rather, animals that learned well retained more cells than animals that did not learn or learned poorly. Moreover, performance during acquisition correlated with the number of cells remaining in the dentate gyrus after training. In the second experiment, the time between blocks of trials was increased. Consequently, animals trained with spaced trials performed as well as those trained with massed, but remembered the location better two weeks later. The strength of that memory correlated with the number of new cells remaining in the hippocampus. Together, these data indicate that learning, and not mere exposure to training, enhances the survival of cells that are generated 1 wk before training. They also indicate that learning over an extended period of time induces a more persistent memory, which then relates to the number of cells that reside in the hippocampus.

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mentioning

confidence: 77%

Neurogenesis and the spacing effect: Learning over time enhances memory and the survival of new neurons

Sisti¹,

Glass²,

Shors³

2007

Learn. Mem.

158

111

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In the object displacement task, animals are again exposed to a set of objects in the training phase but in the testing phase, instead of a novel object being introduced, one of the familiar objects is moved to a novel location where there was no object previously and animals should explore this moved object preferentially over the other objects (Ennaceur and Meliani, 1992b). Training regimes that can impair allocentric spatial memory can also impair performance in the object displacement task (Commins et al, 2003) and manipulation of distal and proximal cues can also result in object displacement task deficits . These findings suggest that the hippocampus may have a role in this type of spatial learning.…”

Section: The Role Of the Perirhinal Cortex In Context And Spatial Memorymentioning

confidence: 99%

The rat perirhinal cortex: A review of anatomy, physiology, plasticity, and function

Kealy

Commins

2011

Progress in Neurobiology

Self Cite

105

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“…Training trials that include resting intervals between them (spaced training) produce stronger and longer-lasting memories than do the same number of trials with no intervals (massed training) (9). The spacing effect has been observed in a variety of explicit and implicit memory tasks (10)(11)(12)(13), and the molecular mechanisms supporting this phenomenon have been reported (14)(15)(16)(17)(18). Various intracellular signaling molecules such as CREB (19), mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase (20,21), and PKA (22,23) underlie the spacing effect and are implicated in the remodeling of neuronal structures (23).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Distinct kinetics of synaptic structural plasticity, memory formation, and memory decay in massed and spaced learning

Aziz

Wang

Kesaf

et al. 2013

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Long-lasting memories are formed when the stimulus is temporally distributed (spacing effect). However, the synaptic mechanisms underlying this robust phenomenon and the precise time course of the synaptic modifications that occur during learning remain unclear. Here we examined the adaptation of horizontal optokinetic response in mice that underwent 1 h of massed and spaced training at varying intervals. Despite similar acquisition by all training protocols, 1 h of spacing produced the highest memory retention at 24 h, which lasted for 1 mo. The distinct kinetics of memory are strongly correlated with the reduction of floccular parallel fiber-Purkinje cell synapses but not with AMPA receptor (AMPAR) number and synapse size. After the spaced training, we observed 25%, 23%, and 12% reduction in AMPAR density, synapse size, and synapse number, respectively. Four hours after the spaced training, half of the synapses and Purkinje cell spines had been eliminated, whereas AMPAR density and synapse size were recovered in remaining synapses. Surprisingly, massed training also produced long-term memory and halving of synapses; however, this occurred slowly over days, and the memory lasted for only 1 wk. This distinct kinetics of structural plasticity may serve as a basis for unique temporal profiles in the formation and decay of memory with or without intervals. cerebellar motor learning | AMPA receptor reduction | synapse shrinkage and elimination D uring learning, memories are formed in a specific population of neuronal circuits and are consolidated for persistence (1, 2). These memory processes are supported by discrete subcellular events such as reversible modifications in the efficacy of synaptic transmission (3-5) or persistent structural modifications in the size and number of synaptic connections (6-8). However, how these synaptic modifications relate to the dynamics of formation and decay of memories in behaving animals remains elusive. Memory formation and its persistence are also sensitive to the temporal features of stimulus presentation, as observed in the well-known "spacing effect." Training trials that include resting intervals between them (spaced training) produce stronger and longer-lasting memories than do the same number of trials with no intervals (massed training) (9). The spacing effect has been observed in a variety of explicit and implicit memory tasks (10-13), and the molecular mechanisms supporting this phenomenon have been reported (14-18). Various intracellular signaling molecules such as CREB (19), mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase (20, 21), and PKA (22, 23) underlie the spacing effect and are implicated in the remodeling of neuronal structures (23). In vitro studies showed that spaced stimuli induced the protrusion of new filopodia (20) and the recruitment of new synapses (24) in hippocampal neurons. However, despite the existence of numerous behavioral and molecular studies, no conjoint study has elucidated the synaptic correlates that underpin the expression of the spacing effect du...

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Massed but not spaced training impairs spatial memory

Cited by 87 publications

References 24 publications

Neurogenesis and the spacing effect: Learning over time enhances memory and the survival of new neurons

Neurogenesis and the spacing effect: Learning over time enhances memory and the survival of new neurons

The rat perirhinal cortex: A review of anatomy, physiology, plasticity, and function

Distinct kinetics of synaptic structural plasticity, memory formation, and memory decay in massed and spaced learning

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