Temporal error detection triggers memory reconsolidation (From Joseph LeDoux's lab at NYU)

"The retrieval of previously formed memory triggers the lability of that memory for a short time and its reconsolidation."

Updating memories is critical for adaptive behaviors, but the rules and mechanisms governing that
process are still not well defined. During a limited time window, the reactivation of consolidated
aversive memories triggers memory lability and induces a plasticity-dependent reconsolidation
process in the lateral amygdala (LA). However, whether new information is necessary for
initiating reconsolidation is not known. Here we show that changing the temporal relationship
between the conditioned (CS) and unconditioned (US) stimulus during reactivation is sufficient to
trigger synaptic plasticity and reconsolidation of an aversive memory in the LA. These findings
demonstrate that time is a core part of the CS-US association, and that new information must be
presented during reactivation in order to trigger LA-dependent reconsolidation processes. In sum,
this study provides new basic knowledge about the precise rules governing memory
reconsolidation of aversive memories that might be used to treat traumatic memories.

Joseph E. LeDoux, PhD, is an neuroscientist whose research is primarily focused on the biological underpinnings of emotion and memory, especially brain mechanisms related to fear and anxiety.