Episodic memory was initially believed to be unique to humans. However, studies demonstrate that nonhuman species discriminate items based on the triad what, where and when. Here we addressed the role of the dorsal hippocampal subfield CA1 in an integrative what-where-when task in Wistar rats. We performed bilateral inactivation of dorsal CA1 with the GABA agonist muscimol previously to the task. As expected, sham-operated animals recollected an integrative memory for objects (what), their places (where) and temporal order (when). However, the inactivation of CA1 impaired the performance of the three components of episodic-like memory. In addition, total time of objects exploration and distance traveled were not different between groups, indicating that rats had similar levels of motivation, thus, alterations in exploration does not account for impaired locomotor performance. Altogether, our data provides evidence that CA1 plays an important role in episodic-like memory.

Trabalhos anteriores têm revelado vieses no reconhecimento de emoções e padrões diferenciais de ativação cerebral no transtorno de ansiedade social. No presente estudo, foi investigada a atribuição de emoções a faces neutras em 22 indivíduos com ansiedade social e 20 voluntários controles. Através do método da escolha forçada, participantes atribuíram emoções de alegria, medo, raiva ou tristeza a faces neutras. Verificou-se que homens e mulheres com ansiedade social atribuíram mais frequentemente emoções de raiva e tristeza às faces neutras, respectivamente. A atribuição de raiva por homens pode estar associada à tendência masculina em detectar sinais de hostilidade no ambiente social, enquanto que o aumento na atribuição de tristeza pelas mulheres pode estar associado à facilitação na identificação de emoções negativas. Os resultados sugerem que a ansiedade social afeta diferentemente os sexos e têm implicações importantes sobre o uso da face neutra como condição de base ou controle nas neurociências comportamentais.

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Major depression is a disorder with a high prevalence in women and is associated with biological, affective, and cognitive changes. In the present study we evaluated the pattern of recognition and emotional attribution in women with major depressive disorder and healthy volunteers. Facial expressions of four basic emotions (happiness, fear, sadness, and anger) that were presented at four intensities (25, 50, 75, and 100%) and neutral faces were used as stimuli. Compared with healthy volunteers, women who were diagnosed with depression showed a negative bias in emotional processing. The clinical group showed greater recognition of sadness with the lowest emotional intensity (25%) compared with the control group (p = .013). With regard to emotional attribution, the analysis revealed a statistically significant difference between groups (χ² = 10.30) in which women with major depression tended to assign the emotion of sadness to neutral faces more often (p < 0.01). The results indicate that depressive symptoms are associated with cognitive and emotional bias, which may affect interpersonal functioning in women with major depressive disorder.