title: Effects of combined ventral forebrain grafts to neocortex and amygdala on behavior of rats with damage to the nucleus basalis magnocellularis.
abstract: In rats with damage to the nucleus basalis magnocellularis, transplantation of the embryonic ventral forebrain to the neocortex improves behavioral performance in some behavioral tasks. The present investigation focuses on improvement of behavioral performance by combined graft placement to both neocortex and amygdala. Male rats received unilateral microinjections of quisqualate to the nucleus basalis magnocellularis to produce cell damage. Embryonic ventral forebrain cell suspensions were placed in one group of rats in the frontal and parietal neocortex, in a second group in the amygdala, and in a third group in the frontal and parietal neocortex and in the amygdala. These groups were compared to a group of nonoperated rats and a group of rats with damage but with no grafts. Quisqualate-induced damage to the nucleus basalis magnocellularis reduced cholinergic innervation in the ipsilateral cortical hemisphere, impaired performance in the one-trial training version of passive avoidance, an increased motility and time spent in the open arms of the elevated plus maze. Combined graft placement to neocortex and amygdala normalized performance of passive avoidance and restored the normal time spent in the open arms of an elevated plus maze. These results suggest that after damage to the nucleus basalis magnocellularis, modulation of function in multiple brain regions may be necessary for optimization of adaptive behavior in situations involving induction of fear.
authors.affiliation: Department of Research, Herzog Hospital, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shoham
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Emson
mesh_terms: D000679:Amygdala / Q000637:transplantation*; D000818:Animals; D001362:Avoidance Learning / Q000502:physiology; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D016380:Brain Tissue Transplantation / Q000502:physiology*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000637:transplantation*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D016548:Prosencephalon / Q000637:transplantation*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013377:Substantia Innominata / Q000637:transplantation*