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First published online November 13, 2009
Journal of Experimental Biology 212, 3911-3918 (2009)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2009
doi: 10.1242/jeb.024281

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Differences in LTM-forming capability between geographically different strains of Alberta Lymnaea stagnalis are maintained whether they are trained in the lab or in the wild

M. Orr, K. Hittel, K. S. Lukowiak, J. Han and K. Lukowiak

Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Drive North West, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 4N1

Author for correspondence (lukowiak{at}ucalgary.ca)

Accepted 3 September 2009

We found strain differences in the ability of wild Alberta Lymnaea stagnalis to form long-term memory (LTM) following operant conditioning when L. stagnalis were collected from the wild and trained in the laboratory. Lymnaea stagnalis obtained from the Belly River watershed had an enhanced ability to form LTM compared with those from an isolated pond (referred to as Jackson snails). We therefore asked whether the differences in cognitive ability were an epiphenomenon as a result of training in the laboratory. To answer this question we trained each specific strain (Belly and Jackson) in both the laboratory and the field (i.e. in their home pond and in the pond where the other strain resided - referred to as the visitor pond). We found that within each strain there was no difference in the LTM phenotype whether they were trained in the lab or in either their home or visitor pond. That is, the strain differences in the ability to form LTM were still present. Interestingly, we found no strain differences in the ability to learn or the ability to form intermediate-term memory (ITM).

Key words: Lymnaea, operant conditioning, long-term memory, strain differences, laboratory vs wild conditions

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