Behavioral vigilance following infusions of 192 IgG-saporin into the basal forebrain: selectivity of the behavioral impairment and relation to cortical AChE-positive fiber density.
Rats were trained in a previously validated behavioral vigilance task that required them to detect visual signals of variable length and to discriminate signal from nonsignal events. Baseline performance was characterized by a signal length-dependent ability to score hits, a decline in hits over time, and a correct rejection rate of approximately 70%. After the rats reached criterion performance in this task, the immunotoxin 192 IgG-saporin or its vehicle was infused into the area of the nucleus basalis/substantia innominata of the basal forebrain. Postoperative performance in lesioned rats was characterized by a decrease in their ability to detect signals while their ability to correctly reject nonsignals remained unaffected. The effect of the lesion did not recover in the course of over 180 sessions of postlesion testing. The overall performance of the rats correlated with acetylcholinesterase (AChE)-positive fiber density in all cortical areas measured except the cingulate and pyriform cortex. These findings help to elucidate the nature of the attentional impairments resulting from the loss of cortical cholinergic inputs.
McGaughy
J
J
Department of Psychology, Ohio State University, Columbus 43210, USA. msarter@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu
Kaiser
T
T
Sarter
M
M
D000110:Acetylcholinesterase / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000494:pharmacology; D001288:Attention / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002243:Carbolines / Q000494:pharmacology; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D018678:Cholinergic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D002799:Cholinergic Fibers / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D003216:Conditioning, Operant / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D004193:Discrimination Learning / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D000922:Immunotoxins / Q000494:pharmacology; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D009699:N-Glycosyl Hydrolases; D016548:Prosencephalon / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D011916:Rats, Inbred F344; D054789:Ribosome Inactivating Proteins, Type 1; D000076985:Saporins; D013377:Substantia Innominata / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*
C085696:192 IgG-saporin; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D002243:Carbolines; D018678:Cholinergic Agents; D000922:Immunotoxins; D054789:Ribosome Inactivating Proteins, Type 1; C035874:FG 7142; D000110:Acetylcholinesterase; D009699:N-Glycosyl Hydrolases; D000076985:Saporins