title: Effect of 6-hydroxydopamine lesions of the medial prefrontal cortex of the rat on performance in a reaction time task.
abstract: Rats were trained to keep pressing a panel and then release it within a time limit after a light cue. Reaction time was measured from the light cue to the release of the panel. In 'regular' preparatory interval (PI) sessions, the rat had to wait (keep pressing the panel) for a light cue during an interval fixed in a session. In 'irregular' PI sessions, which followed regular PI sessions, intervals until a light cue presentation changed randomly from trial to trial in a session. Rats lesioned by 6-hydroxydopamine infusion into their medial prefrontal cortices showed shorter and more stable reaction times in irregular PI sessions than sham-operated control rats. Cross-over patterns of reaction time of the lesioned rats were not as clear as those of the control rats. Impairment of mnemonic predictive function might underlie the reaction time features in irregular PI sessions in the lesioned rats.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Japan.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sakurai
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Shibata
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kurachi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D005625:Frontal Lobe; D008027:Light; D008297:Male; D016627:Oxidopamine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000187:drug effects*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D016627:Oxidopamine