Cortical noradrenaline depletion eliminates sparing of spatial learning after neonatal frontal cortex damage in the rat.
The possibility that cortical noradrenaline (NA) is necessary for the sparing of function that occurs after neonatal frontal cortex damage was examined. Spatial localization by rats with frontal cortex damage sustained neonatally was better than by rats with similar damage sustained as adults. The sparing was abolished in rats depleted of cortical noradrenaline by means of neonatal 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) administration. NA depletion alone did not affect spatial localization. These data are consistent with the notion that NA has some general function in maintaining some forms of plasticity in posterior cortex.
D000818:Animals; D004193:Discrimination Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D004298:Dopamine / Q000502:physiology; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000502:physiology*; D009115:Muridae; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000378:metabolism*; D009949:Orientation / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D013550:Swimming
D004298:Dopamine; D009638:Norepinephrine