Presentation of a flashing light following one-trial fear conditioning enhances retention

Rats exposed for 60 sec to a flashing light stimulus following one-trial fear conditioning showed enhanced retention performance relative to controls not exposed to the flashing light. The results of a second experiment demonstrated a time-dependent gradient of the enhancement effect. In view of additional data indicating that the flashing light is not aversive, these results suggest that the presentation of an exteroceptive stimulus can influence memory processing.