Functional differentiation within the neostriatum of the rat using electrical (blocking) stimulation during discrimination learning.
Sixteen rats, eight with bipolar electrodes implanted bilaterally in the anterodorsal head of the caudate-putamen and eight with similar electrodes in the posteroventral caudate-putamen, learned a spatial and a form  discrimination task and their reversals while receiving "continuous" stimulation. Rats receiving stimulation to the anterodorsal caudate-putamen were imparied on spatial reversal learning compared with the posteroventral group. On form discrimination reversal the posteroventral group were impaired compared with the anterodorsal group. This dissociation is related to the particular cortical neostriatal  projection system for the region stimulated and demonstrates a behavioral differentiation in rat neostriatum comparable with that observed in the monkey.
D000818:Animals; D002421:Caudate Nucleus / Q000502:physiology*; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000502:physiology*; D004193:Discrimination Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D005556:Form Perception / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D011699:Putamen / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D012193:Reversal Learning / Q000502:physiology; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology; D013045:Species Specificity; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology