The basolateral amygdala orexin 1 and 2 receptors’ involvement in modulating spatial reference memory

Contextual generalization of social stress learning is modulated by orexin receptors in basolateral amygdala

“…Importantly, we demonstrate transference or generalization is strongly modified by Orx receptor actions in the BLA. Antagonism of Orx receptors in the BLA impacts spatial memory, specifically during the consolidation/re-consolidation phase ( Ardeshiri et al, 2019 ); however, we report a caveat, that Orx influence over BLA-gated learning events may depend on the anxious state of the individual. For example, in stress-susceptible and anxious Stay mice ( Smith et al, 2016 ), vehicle-treated individuals trend toward time in the center of the SAM due to the aggressive CD1 patrolling the edges; though this trend is not statistically significant.…”

Hypothalamic orexins as possible therapeutic agents in threat and spatial memory disorders

“…Direct intervention in the trisynaptic loop diminished the ability to utilize an allocentric strategy in navigating the environment. However, injecting either SB-334867 or TCS-OX2-29 directly into the basolateral amygdala did not have any effect on the retrieval in rats ( Ardeshiri et al, 2019 ). The results corroborate the notion that the role of the amygdala in the retrieval phase is time-dependent ( Liang et al, 1982 ) and continually diminishes to the point that activating this structure via the orexinergic system does not produce any effect.…”

“…Interestingly, it seems that the effect of this blockade can be mitigated by extended training. After antagonizing OX1 or OX2 receptors in the basolateral amygdala, the animals showed impaired spatial memory formation in the short Morris water maze paradigm, which was ameliorated with longer training ( Ardeshiri et al, 2019 ). Furthermore, in a six-trial Morris water maze, the animal models were able to memorize the location of the hidden platform, similar to the base level learning, as opposed to the two-trial paradigm, during which the learning was significantly impaired by the OX1R blockade ( García-Brito et al, 2018 ).…”