Comparison of the behavioral and morphological effects of colchicine- or neutral fluid-induced destruction of granule cells in the dentate gyrus of the rat.
Virtually complete destruction of dentate gyrus granule cells by colchicine injections produced a persistent incapacity to solve spatial problems in rats. A topographically more selective but only locally complete destruction of granule cells using injections of neutral fluid (NFL) impaired acquisition during the initial stages of Morris water maze testing, thus indicating that limited degeneration of granule cells may weakly but significantly alter spatial learning capabilities. A subamnestic dose (0.08 mg/kg ip) of the NMDA antagonist MK-801 worsened radial maze performance only in NFL-treated rats, suggesting that there may be a synergistic interaction between NMDA blockade and limited granule cell degeneration.
Schuster
G
G
Laboratoire de Neurosciences Comportementales et Cognitives, Université Louis Pasteur, URA 1939 du CNRS, Strasbourg, France.
Cassel
J C
JC
Will
B
B
D000818:Animals; D003078:Colchicine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018891:Dentate Gyrus / Q000187:drug effects*; D016291:Dizocilpine Maleate / Q000494:pharmacology; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000187:drug effects*; D051381:Rats
D016291:Dizocilpine Maleate; D003078:Colchicine