Stability of long temporal gradients of retrograde amnesia in mice.

Mice were given a single training trial and then received a series of four electroconvulsive shocks (ECS), 1 h apart, at one of several times after training (1-180 days). Retention was then tested at one of three times after ECS: 7, 14, or 28 days. Control animals that received sham treatment exhibited gradual forgetting with increasing training-retention intervals. Mice given ECS exhibited temporally graded retrograde amnesia, which affected memories acquired up to about 14 days before treatment. The retrograde amnesia was relatively stable, maintaining its temporally graded appearance for at least 28 days after ECS. Some recovery may have occurred in the case of memories acquired 7 days or longer before ECS, but memories acquired only 1 or 5 days before ECS did not recover. These findings extend the parallel between experimental amnesia in laboratory animals and human amnesia.