Disturbances in exploratory behavior and functional recovery in the Y and radial mazes following dopamine depletion of the lateral septum.
The effects of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) injected into the lateral septum in rats were investigated for spontaneous alternation behavior in a Y maze and for spatially oriented behavior in an 8-arm radial maze. The performance of the animals in these tests was assessed under two physiological states, food-satiated and food-deprived. The selective depletion of septal dopaminergic concentrations leads to behavioral disturbances in both the Y and the radial mazes. These deficits disappeared when the animals with 6-OHDA lesions were food-deprived. These results confirm other studies from our laboratory and support two conclusions. First, lesions of dopaminergic neurons lead to behavioral impairments which resemble those found after the total lesion of the structure they innervate. Second, these behavioral impairments are responsive to therapeutic treatments, manipulations of the internal or external environment, or the level of arousal, since under certain conditions a recovery of function can occur in the absence of dopaminergic neurons. These two points provide additional support for a nonspecific role for the dopaminergic neurons originating in the ventral tegmental area. These neurons could have a permissive role in the functioning of the forebrain structures they innervate.
D000818:Animals; D001143:Arousal / Q000502:physiology; D001931:Brain Mapping; D004298:Dopamine / Q000502:physiology*; D005106:Exploratory Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D005508:Food Deprivation / Q000502:physiology; D006892:Hydroxydopamines / Q000494:pharmacology; D008297:Male; D016627:Oxidopamine; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012688:Septum Pellucidum / Q000502:physiology*; D013037:Spatial Behavior; D009435:Synaptic Transmission
D006892:Hydroxydopamines; D016627:Oxidopamine; D004298:Dopamine